


Dreams of a life by your side

by Smingston



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, One Shot, One Shot Collection, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2020-07-21 08:24:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 30,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19998883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smingston/pseuds/Smingston
Summary: A collection of one-shots about Jopper. Feel free to leave prompts in the comments and I'll write about it if I'm inspired :)HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF SEASON 3 !!-------last one:Joyce is not feeling right tonight but Hopper has a hard time trying to get to tell him why.Our favorite couple in the process of getting to know each other in the early stage of their relationship





	1. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hopper has to work late in the night and what he encounters during service shakes him. But his family is there for him and the woman who shares his life has the ability to make everything feel better  
> #fluff #domestic #IncludingTheParty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: description of a bad car crash. if you're not comfortable with that it might not be a good idea to read this one :)

It was a Friday evening filled with laughter and music, Joyce was sitting at the kitchen table cutting some avocados. She peered an eye out at the living room where a D&D campaign was raging on. Now that they moved to a new, bigger, house, the party spent a fair amount of time in the Byers living room. All the kids were here tonight. El and Max, newly obsessed with role play, convinced the boys to dig out their D&D stuff, much to Will's pleasure. Of course, Erica was here too, much to Lucas' despair. The girl was now an official member of the extended party and it was her turn to master the campaign. The game felt different when she was in command and, even if the boys were never going to admit it, she could quickly become the best game master of their little nerd group. On the other side of the room, Steve and Robin were arguing about what movie they wanted to watch tonight, going through the Byers VHS collection.

"Please! Not another romantic comedy !" Nancy yelled from behind Joyce, helping Jonathan with the pancakes.

"See? I told you Dingus !" retorted Robin, hitting him on the head with an empty VHS box.

Joyce smiled at herself in silence. She loved having everyone over. Only Hopper was missing but he was probably on his way home by now. This odd fitting group had a particular dynamic that she was so fond of. After everything they had been through, they understood each other. When they were all together, it felt like a break from their daytime routine. They were in safe territory when they were together.

The sound of the phone ringing brought her out of her reverie. She got up and told Jonathan she would get it.

"Hello ?"

"Hey, it's me," said the familiar voice at the other side of the line.

"Hop? It's past five, you're still at the station ?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry," he mumbled. "There was a big accident on the highway, we just received the call. Just… Don't wait for me tonight, I think I'm going to be home quite late."

"Oh… Ok. Do we keep some dinner for you? Or maybe I can meet you there and give you some ?“ she said, obviously disappointed he wasn't going to spend the evening with them.

"No. No, no. I don't want you to see this. I'll manage to find something."

She groaned quietly. "That bad ?“

He sighted on the other side. "Yeah… From what I heard it's pretty ugly. Tell the kids I'm sorry."

"I will. Maybe you'll get there before the end of the movie," she added, hopeful.

Her optimism made him smile. He liked that about her. "I don't think so, babe. You'll probably all be asleep by then."

"Oh…" she said, defeated again.

He hated to disappoint them. He hated to disappoint her.

"I'm sorry."

"No, no. It's not your fault. Just be careful, Hop."

He smiled again. "Of course, don't worry. Alright, I gotta go. I'll see you tonight, love you, Joyce."

"I love you," she said, smiling too, before hanging up.

She sat back at the table and noticed El looking at her. The girl knew she just had been talking to her dad and, as always, she wanted the details, just to make sure everything was ok.

"Hopper's gonna be home late, kids. He told me not to wait for him tonight and that he's very sorry."

A few of the kids moaned in disappointment, echoing her own. Then she got back to cooking for her troup.

\------

"Alright, thank you, everyone. We can all go to sleep now. No need to come to the station tomorrow, we all need to rest."

A muffled mixed of "thanks chief", "goodnight" and tired groans responded to Jim before everyone parted away. He looked at his watch : 3:30 am. He was exhausted. 

One of his men approached him silently. "Some of us are going to my place to drink it off since we won't be able to sleep, wanna join us ?“

Hopper shook his head. "Thanks but no. The only thing I want right now is to go back home, kiss my kids and hold my wife."

The man waved at him in understanding and Hopper got in his car. He turned on the radio and started to drive.

He and Joyce were not married. They both had a bad experience with marriage and never felt like going through it all again. They just proclaimed themselves husband and wife and that was more than enough for them. He loved the sound of it on his tongue, though. So he always referred to her as such, and everyone in town thought that it made sense. But mostly, he loved the sound of it in her own mouth. Every time she called him her husband he couldn't stop himself from smiling stupidly. God, he was so in love with this woman

But right now, he had other things in mind. He had seen other accidents before, even bad ones. But this one was the type wich haunt you forever. Eight cars, one truck, five lives… Gone. The paramedics were already there when the police had arrived and he had no idea how they managed to get through the night doing what they were doing. Hopper was only supposed to direct his men to control traffic around the accident and try to understand what had happened, but he still saw things he wished to never have nightmares about.

He took advantage of a red light to breath. He buried his face in his hands a few seconds in an attempt to ease his mind. He just wanted to be home. He needed her.

He drove silently the rest of the way, not even hearing the radio. When he parked next to the house he got out of the car quickly. He walked inside, took off his shoes quietly and went to check the living room without making a noise. It was filled with sleeping bags and snoring teenagers. For the time tonight, he smiled softly. He took time to lay his eyes on everyone. El was on the couch, in her own sleeping bag, unnecessary close to Mike's. But Hopper was not in the mood to be angry, he was breathing a little easier now that he was seeing them. 

He turned around silently and got up the stairs. He noticed Jonathan's room was still lit and he could hear some whispering coming out of it. He knew he shouldn't listen to it but he never had done it so he figured it wouldn't be that bad if he did it tonight. It turned out they were explaining something about biology to Robin who was the only one still in high school. How did those kids ended up talking about school in the middle of the night, that was a mystery, but it managed to make Hopper smile again. He heard Nancy make fun of Steve for saying something apparently outrageously wrong about the human body.

Hopper continued his way toward his and Joyce's room, unnoticed. He pushed the door open and saw her, asleep on his side of the bed, as she always did when he was not here. And there was the third smile of the night. He got out of his jacket and walked up to her. He let himself sink to the floor next to the bed, her face facing him in her sleep. He looked at her for a moment. She was so beautiful. And she seemed so peaceful. He brushed away a strand of hair that had fallen in her face.

She knitted her brows slightly, in that adorable way of hers. Then, her eyes opened and looked at him.

"Jim…" she said quietly. "What time is it ?“

He glanced at the alarm clock. "Almost four."

She moaned sleepily. "Come to bed. What are you doing on the floor, are you ok ?“

He continued to caress her cheek gently while shaking his head. "I have to take a shower first."

She looked at him worriedly but nodded anyway. "Ok."

He got on his feet and dropped a soft kiss on her cheek.

Once in the shower he finally allowed the tears to fall. Both hands on the wall in front of him, he let the water run over him, eyes refusing to close because every time he did images from tonight came back to him. Once he decided he was done crying he cleaned himself quickly and got out of the shower, put on some fresh boxers and made his way back to the bedroom.

When Joyce heard him she turned on the light and smiled tentatively at him. She could see he wasn't all right, and not just because he had to work until the middle of the night.

He got under the covers and she curled up against him. He gathered her in his arms and buried his nose in her hair, inhaling deeply.

They stayed like this for a moment, in a somewhat comfortable silence, the light still on.

"Are you ok ?" she asked eventually.

"I don't know," he mumbled.

"It was that bad ?" she went on gently.

"Five people. Five people Joyce. Three more in the hospital, God knows if they are going to make it." He paused for a bit, and she didn't interfere. "Two of them not older than our kids."

"My God…"

He chuckled, humorless and cold. "Yeah."

She pulled back from him a bit, to look at him. She cupped his cheek with one hand. "It's over now."

Hopper closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. He had no idea how she had the power to make everything feel better like that. He took a big breath.

"It's over," she repeated. Then, she got closer and pressed her lips against his. When she pulled back she asked, "Do you want to talk about it ?“

He shook his head. "No." He tugged another strand of her hair behind her ear. "No. I don't want you to… I don't wanna talk about it."

She stared at him for a few seconds, scanning him. Then she nodded slowly. "Ok."

She kissed him again and he kissed her back, his hand now in her hair, his other arm around her small frame. He held her close for a long time. When they finally parted he pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead. At least his family was safe.

"It's weird," she started, "after everything we've been through, we could think that normal life things like this would seem insignificant."

He smiled sadly against her crown. "That's what I thought, too."

Joyce moved suddenly, going up in the bed so she was higher than him and took his big head in her tiny arms, cuddling him close.

He could hear her heartbeat like this. No other sound could soothe him better than this one.

She ran her fingers through his hair, massaging his scalp gently. "I know it can be hard to process, but there is nothing you can do. Thinking about it won't do anything," she whispered against his forehead before kissing him right there.

"I know," he mumbled on her chest, his own arms wrapped around her waist.

They stayed in this position for a long time. Around five in the morning, she was sure he was asleep so she extracted herself from his embrace gently and turned the light off. 

She didn't even have the time to turn around before he moved and wrapped one arm around her, pressing against her back. He stuck his nose in her hair again.

She laced her fingers with his and fell asleep quickly.

Hopper, on the other hand, was well awake, despite his closed eyes. In order to clear his mind, he focused on her, the smell of her shampoo, the softness of her skin, how small she felt against him. He always loved that about her, how tiny she was. He knew it was stupid but sometimes just seeing her hand in his, way bigger, was enough to make him smile. He liked that he could wrap himself entirely around her. Even if some people seemed to think otherwise, he always thought that they fit perfectly together.

The sun was already showing up when he finally fell asleep.

\------

When he woke up the next morning, he was alone. He rubbed his hand over his face and glanced at the alarm clock. It was almost 12. He groaned against the sun but got out of bed.

When he arrived downstairs he was greeted by happy cheers.

He smiled at them. "Hi, folks. Hope you didn't have too much fun without me yesterday."

"The movie Steve picked was boring. Again. You didn't miss anything," Erica responded in her characteristic annoyed tone.

"Hey! Robin chose it !" the older one retorted.

The girl defended herself against those accusations and Hop, letting them argue, walked up to Joyce who was still nursing a mug of coffee in her hands, leaning against the counter. She smiled at him and welcomed his lips happily against hers, kissing him back shamelessly.

"They're at it again, everyone closes their eyes !“ yelled Dustin from the kitchen table.

They filled the room with a mix of disgust sounds and enthusiast cheerings and when they parted Joyce was slightly pink, refusing to look away from him.

Will shared a look with Jonathan, both happy that their mom had finally found something good.

Hopper dropped a final kiss on her hair before starting to coordinate the cooking for today's meal. El was by his side in a second and he wrapped one arm around her, happy to be with her. Mike approached tentatively to help them and was surprisingly welcomed quite nicely by the old man. They ended up doing most of the cooking together and Joyce looked at them with a smile on her lips.

They shared the meal all together in the living room, husband and wife pressed together on the couch. The rest of the afternoon was spent playing board games in relative calm. Hopper would never admit it out loud to anyone except Joyce, but he loved this little group of people more than anything, and it was more than what he needed to take his mind out of last night events.

Here, on his couch, in his own home, with the people he loved, was his happy place. There was nowhere else he wanted to be. He had his eyes on his daughter who he knew was making memories for life in this living room, with her friends. Beside him was the woman he had dreamed of since he was fifteen and only one look at her was enough to make anything feel right.

She caught him looking at her and her smile widened.

"Feeling better ?" she murmured.

He nodded, a grin on his own lips. "Way better."

She struck his cheek gently, thumbing over the pockets under his eyes.

He leaned on to rest his forehead against hers, and she reached out to brush her nose against his. Shamelessly forgetting they weren't alone, once again, their lips met in silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this one, please leave a comment to tell me what you think, it makes my day. Feel free to leave prompts ideas as well!!


	2. Closer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My version of Jopper reunion after they rescued him. He's in the hospital, hight on painkillers, and she's beautiful.  
> #CanonCompliant

Hopper didn’t know where he was. The only thing he was aware of was the pain throbbing beneath his skull. He tried to open his eyes, completely disoriented, but the light was way too bright and it caused more pain. A soft voice somewhere near him told him something he didn’t understand before darkness fell over him again.

When the pain came back, he still had no idea where he was. He didn’t know what time it was either, or what day. Hell, he couldn’t even be sure about the year either. His lungs were aching for more oxygen so he took a big breath. That resulted in a bad half coughing half choking. The gentle voice was there again but when he opened his eyes the light was still too much so he shut them back. He could only make out one word of what it was saying: his name. What the fuck was all that. Once he stopped coughing, he felt the darkness coming back, and he was too weak to fight against it.

It felt like years had passed when he came back to reality. Or maybe only seconds. Something in between, perhaps. He felt like breathing was easier. Without thinking he opened his eyes and it seemed like the light was a little more bearable. Everything was blurry though, and the voice was nowhere to be seen. He tried to sit up but his head was so heavy. Who the fuck left an anvil on his forehead? Before he could try anything else, his eyes slapped shut and he drifted out, again.

It seemed to him that he woke up some other times after that, but everything was a blur and he couldn’t be sure about anything at this point. He felt like he was stuck in a piece of chewing gum and, every time he tried to get out of it, some weird little men were throwing other pieces of chewing gum at him. If he had his gun, he would shut them all so they would stop. He needed to get out of that gum. He really needed that. Why on earth was he incapable of doing it? And how did those little men found so much gum to throw at him? None of this made sense but he couldn’t say why. Only the pain was constant.

After a long, long moment, he noticed something. His left hand, it wasn’t empty. What was it? He tried to move his fingers around to make out the shape of this something. It was hard but kind of squishy at the same time. It was also soft against his skin. It moved slightly between his fingers and the realization struck him: it was another hand. It definitely could not be his own right hand which was at least a mile away from the left one. Was there someone here with him? Was it the voice’s hand?

When he tried to open his eyes once again, the blinding lights were gone, but everything was still blurry. Everything was dark around him. The owner of the anvil must have came back to pick it up when he was asleep because this time he was able to move his head to try to look at the hand in his.

“Jim ?”

He knew that voice.

He looked in it’s direction, but his head fell back on his pillow. So, he had a pillow. That was good.

“It’s ok, don’t move.” It was a soft murmur.

“Joyce ?” he managed to get out, hoars.

“I’m right here. You’re all right, don’t worry.”

“What ? Where ?” He wasn’t even sure sound came out of his mouth. His eyes slapped shut again, but he didn’t drift out this time.

“You’re in a hospital,” she answered him.

It’s only then that he noticed her other hand, on the top of his head. She was thumbing over his forehead gently. He took a big breath to steady himself.

“It’s alright, Hop. You’re safe here,” she continued to soothe him, but her voice was unsteady.

Safe? Safe from what? He didn't have enough strength to pursue the thought anyway. He let his head fall on one side and opened one eye.

There she was. It took some times for the blur to fade but it was undeniably her. He opened his other eye.

Her big brown eyes were glowing in the dark, reflecting the moonshine. Her hair was tied up in a messy ponytail and her thin lips were crooked in a worried smile.

God, she was so beautiful.

She laughed and wiped a tear under one of her eyes.

Did he just say that out loud?

She moved the hand that was in his hair to cup his cheek. "You're very high because of the painkiller," she said with a smile, amused by the situation in spite of the context. 

"It doesn't work, " he informed, feeling the throbbing beneath his skull.

Joyce knitted her brows in worry and squeezed his hand. "I'll tell them to give you more."

After that, he stayed silent for a while. He was still conscious, kind of, but didn't have the energy required to speak.

Joyce stayed by his side the whole time. She kept squeezing his hand occasionally and played with his hair. It was a good distraction from the pain.

He took this time to recall what had happened that led him here. It came back in short memories, flashes from the Upside Down, then Russia. How he ended up in this hospital was still a mystery, though. And then the realization came to his mind

He opened his eyes suddenly, “El? Where is she?”

“She’s alright Hop. She’s resting at the moment,” Joyce reassured him.

He stared at her for a moment, unable to word his thought. “Did you…” he trailed off. “Take her ?”

She nodded, pursing her lips. “Of course we did. She’s been living with us this all time”

He breathed out. “Thank you,” he murmured.

Joyce shook her head to indicate it was nothing. Then she added softly, “she was the one who found you, you know.”

He smiled at that. Of course, she did.

After a few seconds, she spoke again. “How do you feel, Hop?”

He took his time to process the question. “Like, terrible, but worse.”

He was so sure that it was going to make her laugh. He wanted to make her laugh. But her face crispated in response, looking at him sadly.

She stroke his face gently. “It’s going to be ok.”

He stared back at her, defeated. According to the look on her face, he bet he must have been severely injured. “I’m gonna be ok,” he repeated, more for her than himself. Then, he lifted his forearm to be able to see her hand in his. He gave it a squeeze, mirroring her own way of soothing him. After that, he moved tentatively his fingers to lace them with hers.

She watched him do it silently, mesmerized by him. After all the nightmares she had had about that night, about losing him, he was finally here. She wasn’t even sure what to tell him at this point. He had been through hell, he almost felt like a stranger now. But there he was, just in front of her, holding her hand as if nothing had changed at all. She smiled at the gesture, not even realizing it. It wasn’t how it was supposed to be, but at least it was starting to get better. She recalled how many times she went through their last conversations in her head, way too many times.

His eyes went back to her and, after meeting her gaze, he saw her soft grin. “What ?”

She chuckled quietly and shook her head, then bit her bottom lips, still visibly amused. “You missed our goddam date, Hop.”

He laughed in response. “I promise to bring you on that date first thing when I get out of here,” he told her, bringing their joined hands on his chest.

Her smile widened. “We'll see about that,” she retorted, brushing some hair away from his forehead.

After that, they talked a little for quite some time. It was a light conversation about things that had happened on Joyce’s side. He didn’t say much, way too tired to articulate any complicated thought, so he would mostly just smile at some details about the kids, nod, and ask some questions. He fell back to sleep a couple of times and she stood by his side until dawn. Occasionally, a nurse would walk in to check everything was fine before leaving them alone again.

At some point, the door behind them opened to reveal a vulnerable looking El. Joyce turned around and met her gaze. The girl seemed a bit lost so she extended one hand to invite her in.

At the sigh of her dad, awake, tears fealed up her eyes.

Hopper put all his energy in the movement to sit up so he could take her in arms.

All hesitation gone, she buried her face in his neck and sobs started to come out.

His own eyes started to swell up and his throat tightened, just like his arms around her. He looked up at Joyce over El’s shoulder and his gaze was heavy, communicating a lot of mixed emotions. Gratitude, mostly.

She smiled back at him, transmitting just as many things to him. Then she pointed at the door to indicate him she was leaving them alone, to what he responded with a small nod before focusing back on his daughter.

“It’s ok,” he murmured to her, his voice transformed by the emotion. “You saved me, kid.”

On the other side of the room, Joyce closed the door quietly behind her and left to get some sleep herself. She was finally breathing easily, for the first time since that night of July. Only at that moment, she allowed herself to hope. Hope that everything was over, that they would all be fine from now on. Hope that she would stop hurting and feeling guilty.

She tightened Hopper’s uniform jacket around her against the cold. She didn’t know if he didn’t notice or simply didn’t mention it, but she had been wearing it since they had left for that expedition to save him. It was, of course, way too big for her and she had to roll up the sleeves many times but for a long time, it had been her only source of comfort apart from her kids.

When she finally reached her hotel room she just crashed on the bed and curled up in a ball. She knew they still had to get back in America, and that he would not recover from this in only a week, but, yet, it felt like a new page in their story. It felt like the beginning of something better.

For the first time in forever, Joyce fell asleep a smile on her lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this one's so short but I might write a follow up to this one at some point.


	3. Date night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teen Joyce and Hopper go on a fake date to make his ex jealous. I don't need to tell you it turns out to be a real date, you already guessed that.  
> #TeenagerAU

“Do you see her ?” she asked nonchalantly, munching on a french fries.

“No.”

“Maybe she doesn’t work today,” she added, sitting back against the backrest.

“Yes she does,” he responded, containing his annoyance.

They were at a dinner table, looking out the window at the theater across the street where Chrissy Carpenter worked. Three days ago she had dumped him, right in the middle of the hight school hallway, between the first and second period, in front of everyone. Her friends had laughed at him like they still were in fucking middle school. He wasn’t going to let her do that with impunity. He needed to make her jealous. 

So that’s why they were going on a fake date just in front of his ex’s work.

Joyce grabbed her soda and siped at the straw. “Well, there’s already Rob and Stacy at the checkouts, Hop. She’s not here.”

“She’s going to come. She works on Fridays, she always does.”

She put her soda down, sighting, before leaning in to steal another one of his fries.

“Stop that! Order your own!” he complained.

“Someone’s grumpy tonight,” she groaned, rolling her eyes. “You’re not even eating them anyway.”

“I will eat them.”

“And I bet you won’t,” she teased him.

He looked back at her and could not refrain a smile at the sight of her mischievous expression. He had a lot of friends all over Hawkins, but Joyce was undeniably his best friend. She actually was the one who suggested this mascarade to take his revanche. She was always the one to come up with crazy shits that turns out to be some of his best memories.

“You’re terrible, you know that ?”

Grabbing yet another of his fries, she noded. “And that’s exactly why it’s only a fake date,” she told him with a smile, proud of herself.

He smiled back at her, shaking his head at her behavior, before going back to stare outside.

They stayed silent for a moment before she spoke again. “What do we do if she’s not here ?”

“I don’t know, do it again ?”

“As long as you pay me food we do that as many times as you’d like.”

“I’m not paying for you !” he complained

She stared at him, letting her shoulders fall. She was visibly annoyed at him.

“Fake date, Joyce. Fake. You pay for your own things.”

“Fine,” she grumbled, grimacing at him. She eyed him for a moment while he was absorbed by what was happening on the other side of the street. “What do you see in her anyway ?”

“Huh ?” He turned his gaze back at her.

“Chrissy. What is there about her ?”

He stared back at her. “Why ?”

Joyce frowned. “I don’t know,” she said with a shrug.

He stayed silent for a bit, and she pretended to be absorbed by the bubbles running against the glass of her soda.

“I just don’t get it,” she added.

Hopper raised an eyebrow, still looking at her. “I don’t get Lonnie either.”

“Oh come on !” she exclaimed, not hiding her annoyance. “We’ve already discussed this a thousand times. We only fucked a couple of times, it’s not like he’s my boyfriend. And I’m most definitely not putting up fake dates to make him jealous.”

He shook his head, frowning hard. “That was your idea, Joyce.”

“Yeah ! Because she treated you like shit ! And no one does that to my friends,” she let out, meaningfully.

“You’re impossible,” he said with a sight.

“You already said that.”

“No, I said ‘terrible’, which is a very different thing. And somehow you manage to be both.”

She gasped and narrowed her eyes at him. Then she stuck her tongue out in response.

A few minutes went by and Joyce had just ordered a second soda when she broke the silence. “So, what’s the plan exactly ? Win her back or just make her regret what she did ?”

“I don’t know,” Hop said, playing with the straw of his own soda. “What would you do ?”

She shrugged. “I don’t think you should get back with her.”

He smiled softly. “You only say that because you secretly dream of dating me,” he teased her.

“No !” she let out, outraged. “In your own dreams maybe,” she threw back at him.

He snorted at that. “I’m not the one who came up with this ‘fake’ date idea, Horowitz.”

She slapped his arm in revanche, making an angry face. “If that’s what I get from helping you…”

He kept laughing

“I hate you.”

“Yeah, sure,” he retorted.

“I can just walk out and leave, so you can make her jealous on your own, Hop !”

“Ok, ok,” he gave in. “Sorry.”

She eyed him in response, returning her attention to her beverage.

Twenty minutes later, her own bowl of fries empty, and his still pretty full, he got up without warning, urging her to do the same.

“You want to go see a movie ?” she asked when they crossed the street to get in line in front of the theater.

“Yeah, I know she’s working tonight, she must be somewhere else. Inside.”

Joyce laughed. “And you want to bring your date right where she works. That’s very subtle,” she commented, emphasizing the ‘very’.

“You have a better idea ?”

“Yeah, coming back tomorrow !” she answered as if it was the most evident thing in the world.

But still, she followed him and was by his side when he asked for a ticket for the next screening. He dug through his wallet for the money. “Shit, Joyce ? I don’t have enough.”

“Are you serious ?”

He threw at her an apologetic look. “I’ll pay you back.”

She grunted but opened her own wallet, gathering the money for both of them.

“You’re lucky it’s a fake date because if it was a real one it would be going terribly,” she whispered to him once they were inside. While she was saying that, she suddenly felt his arm lending on her shoulders. She looked up at him, puzzled, but quickly realized he had spotted his ex and wanted her to see them like that. She was selling popcorns in the hall.

“Let’s just hope she falls for it now,” she said.

Hopper looked back at her. “Well, her intelligence was not one of the reasons I was with her, so I would not worry too much about that.”

She slapped his chest. “That’s mean. Because she had been mean to you does not make being mean to her ok.”

“Ouch! You need to quit hitting me !” he protested, murmuring harshly to her.

“Well, stop making me want to hit you !”

He glared at her in response. “So you’re gonna tell me that what we’re doing here is not mean, maybe ?”

She looked away for a second, frowning in thought. “No. It’s just what she deserves.”

He shook his head, amazed by her capacity at always wanting to have the final say at every of their argument. Instead of saying something more he led her to a bench in the hall to wait before they could enter the room of the screening. His arm still on her shoulders.

“Do you think she saw us ?” she asked, peeking at her

“I don’t know.”

“Ok, don’t look at her, I’ll do it.”

“Why ?”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Because you’re not supposed to care about her anymore, and discretion is not one of your qualities. God, could you just trust me for once, Hop ?”

He sighed and closed his eyes in annoyance. “Ok,” he said shortly. “So? What do we do?”

“Well, first, smile,” she started, doing as she told. “You’re on a date, you’re happy.”

He stared back at her, grinning too now. She was beaming at him and he had to admit that her smile was very communicative. 

Then, without warning, she started to laugh out of nowhere.

“What ?”

“You just made a joke to make your date laugh Hop, focus a bit, I’m tired of being the intelligent one on this.”

He snorted before a chuckle took over him. “You’re impossible,” he mumbled again, against her hair to go along with their put on show.

She looked past him at Chrissy and smiled wider when she noticed her plan had worked perfectly. “Ok, she’s looking at us,” she murmured to him.

“Really ?”

“Yes. Kiss me.”

“What ?” he stared at her.

“Come on, kiss me. It’s just like playing bottle game, you’ll survive it,” she said between her teeth as she continued to pretend to smile.

He hesitated a second but finally complied and pressed his lips against hers.

Joyce was expecting a quick peck but her breath went away when she felt his lips moving against hers. Her eyes flew shut and her mouth responded to his without her meaning to.

When he pulled back he stayed close for a short moment, big brown eyes meeting deep blue ones.

It took her another moment to compose herself and she cleared her throat before smiling.

“Is she still looking ?”

Joyce’s eyes left his to peek back at her and smiled in victory. “Yes, she is.”

He bit his bottom lips and frowned his nose in victory too. “Yes !” he half-whispered. “Do you think we should go buy her some popcorn?”

“With my money? No thank you. I think kissing in front of her is already enough,” she stated.

He chuckled. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“Oh, I wish I could record you saying that.”

They chatted lightly after that, genuinely enjoying it, proud of themselves. When the room opened they got up and entered it holding hands before Chrissy Carpenter’s dead cold look. Hands that stayed joined when they were out of her sight.

When the movie started Joyce turned to him. “What are we watching?”

“I don’t have a clue.”

She snorted, amusedly exasperated by the whole situation. “I can’t believe us.”

“I know,” he laughed too.

“I can’t believe we just did that.”

The man that was on the seat just in front of them turned around to hush them.

They apologized but continued to chuckle more quietly.

A little more than thirty minutes into it, Joyce exclaimed in a whisper “This is the most boring shit I ever watched,” before resting her head against his shoulder. “I’ll take a nap, don’t mind me.”

He turned to look at her but she had already closed her eyes, visibly determined to do as she said. Her face was lit by the dim light of the screen and he definitely stared at her way too long. His best friend could bring any man down to his knees if she wanted.

Over an hour later, the lights of the theater turned on, waking her up. She rubbed her eyes while he stretched.

After a yawn, she told him, “Give me your jacket.”

“Why didn’t you take yours ?” he asked as people were walking toward the exit. 

“So you could give me yours, that’s what people do on dates, Jim.”

Once again, he shook his head at her, not sure if she was a genius or being extremely annoying. “Do you want it to serve the fake date or because you’re cold ?”

She smiled, beaming at him. “Both.”

He sighed in defeat and gave her the damn jacket. She put it on and laughed at how big it was on her. After she sat up she rolled up the sleeves. “I look like Dopey in this.”

“You’re tiny.”

“I’m not,” she retorted, giving him a look.

He stared down at her. “You definitely are.”

She grimaced at him in protestation and started to walk. When they arrived at the door she took his hand and he grinned silently. They made their way through the hall, hearing some whispering as they walked by some of the staff. They didn’t need to look to know Chrissy was gossiping about them with her coworkers.

“We’re gonna hear from it Monday morning,” she said once they were outside.

“I can’t wait to see Lonnie’s face,” he let out.

“Oh shut up about him !” she told him, slapping his arm again.

He only chuckled, happy about his teasing.

“I’m going to think you’re jealous of him.”

He looked at her, exaggeratedly offended and she held his gaze, defiant. They continued their way toward his car in silence and, even if she didn’t mention it, she noticed how he didn’t contradict her. It’s only when they arrived at the car that he let go of her small hand. He got closer and she froze, but he only slid a hand in one his jacket’s pocket to take his keys. He opened his door and grabbed a pack of camels and agitated it in front of her.

“Want one ?”

She nodded in response, securing his jacket around her.

He sat in the car, feet still outside, facing her. He put one cigarette between his lips and lit it up. He took a big drag before handing to her.

“So? Happy?” she asked, exhaling smoke.

“Pretty pleased with myself, yeah,” he smiled, looking up at her from his seat. For once she was higher than him.

She smiled back.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” she responded before handing him the cigarette back.

“The whole school is going to think we’re dating now,” he laughed softly.

She chuckled. “We’ll have to pretend a fake break up then.”

“We don’t ‘break up’ with someone we went on a date with once,” he said, amused.

Her gaze fell to the ground, looking a bit more serious. “Say that to Lonnie.”

He gave her the smoke back with a frown. “I know I give you a lot of shit about him but if you need me I’m there you know ?”

She smiled with half her mouth, looking directly at him. “I know, Hop,” she said softly, grateful. “But I’ll manage.” She brought the cigarette back to her lips.

They kept quiet for a few seconds, unprepared for the conversation to become serious.

“My dad’s the chief of Police, I can cover his murder up if you need,” he added.

She laughed. “I know there were some perks of being your friend.”

He snorted. “There is to be at least one.”

He grabbed the cigarette between her fingers. She had come to like the way their hand brush against each other while doing so.

He shivered suddenly. “I hope you’re enjoying the jacket.”

“Yes, very much actually,” she teased.

“And you’re planning on keeping it, I suppose ?”

She nodded silently, accepting the smoke. She took a quick drag and gave it back to him before going around the car. She opened the passenger door and sat next to him.

Hopper turned on his seat to face the wheel and closed his own door. “Drive you home ?”

“Please.”

He turned the keys in the ignition and turned on the heat. He opened the window to crush the cigarette butt against the outside of his door and throw it away before closing the window again. Only then he pulled out the parking lot and headed in her house direction.

“Buckle up, Jim,” she told him after she had done so herself, knowing him well enough to be sure he wasn’t going to do it if she didn’t ask.

“Yes, mom,” he responded, doing so while he was driving.

She rolled her eyes. “Don’t ‘mom’ me.”

“OK,” he said, stopping before adding, “mom.”

She eyed him and hit his arm.

“Ouch! What did I tell you, Joyce !”

“You’re asking for it !”

The rest of the way went silently, both content just to be in each other’s presence for a few more minutes. Once he turned on her street he slowed down until completely stopping in front of her house.

“Home safe, and before midnight,” he said. “See ? I’m not that bad to date.”

She chuckled. “My dad’s gonna be very happy.”

“It was fun tonight.”

She noded with a smile.

“It’s been a while since we’ve been out only the two of us.”

“Making jealous one of your exes was all we needed to do it,” she joked.

“Exactly !” he agreed with a quick laugh. “Maybe we could do it again sometimes.”

She smiled at him, her eyes glowing as they were reflecting the street lights. “I’d love that, Hop.”

He stared at her and it seemed to her that he hesitated before he spoke again. “Maybe this time I could pay for both of us.”

She frowned, still smiling. “Are you…” she trailed off. “Are you asking me on a real date, Hop ?”

He opened and closed his mouth, then cleared his throat. “I don’t know, Am I ?”

The look on her face changed to a more serious one. “Hopper…” she said gently.

He put his hand over hers. “I’m not kidding, I really enjoyed tonight.”

She bit her lips, looking at his hand. She stayed quiet way too long for his nerves. “I did too.” She looked at him with a shy smile.

“Great!” he let out nervously. “So?”

She bit the inside of her cheek, nervous too. “Yes?” she said tentatively, almost a whisper.

He smiled frankly in response and gave her hand a quick squeeze. Then he unbuckled and got out of the car.

“What the hell just happened?” she murmured to herself, unbuckling too, while he went around the car

She got out just when he met her there, the car standing between them and her house. Silently and a bit awkwardly she got out of the jacket and handed to him.

“Thanks,” he said softly, putting it on.

They stared at each other for a bit and she burst out laughing after a few seconds. “What is… I mean… I wasn’t expecting this.”

He ran a hand over his face, smiling stupidly. “Me neither.”

Their gaze met again, puzzled.

Then he reached out to tug a strand of her hair behind her ear. “You’re beautiful, Joyce.”

In the five years they’ve known each other, he had already told her that before, as you do to a friend when someone just turned them down or before going to a party. But not once he put this much intensity in those words.

She felt like her heart wasn’t beating anymore, frozen in front of him. She watched him as he got closer.

When his mouth met hers, she started moving again. She rose a hand up to his neck while he put one on her hips, bringing her a little closer. It was a sweet kiss, his lips gentle and soft against hers.

She got on her tiptoes and pressed her free hand on his chest, a quiet whimper escaping her. He was cupping her cheek in his large palm, his fingers lost in her hair.

When they parted they stayed close a few seconds, breathing hard. Their eyes met each other just as her heels got back to the ground.

He grabbed her hand and walked her to her door. He pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Goodnight,” he murmured.

“Goodnight, Hop.” she murmured back.

He walked backward for a few meters, letting her hand go.

She watched him get up in his car, then driving away.

Joyce put a hand to her mouth, before smiling to herself. She let her hand fall to her chest, still staring at where he had been standing a moment ago. That smile stuck to her lips for a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really really enjoyed writing this one. I tried to make them seem as real as possible and true to their characters. This one means something special to me, I hope you loved reading it just as much as I love writing it.


	4. Let me take you away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lonnie had been drinking again and once Hop learns that the police sent him home after he got into a bar fight he freaks out and goes check on his friend and her two boys
> 
> TW : mention of domestic violence

Most of the time, being Chief of police in Hawkins was really boring. They could spend an entire week without a single call at the worst of it. But other times, it was the opposite, just like today. At some point in the afternoon, the whole town had decided to drive them crazy. A kid had been caught shoplifting and refused to give his name for a good two hours. Hopper had to go to shake him up so he would cooperate and while he was there a drunken man had been spotted walking in the middle of the main street, swearing and spitting at passersby. Hopper managed to send some men there who handled the situation perfectly but right when he arrived at the station with the kid they received another call. An old man had been found dead at his home by his housekeeper. The poor man had passed away in his sleep the night before but the procedure required the police to get there so Hopper complied. Since it wasn't a proper emergency, the paramedics took forever to arrive.

It was way past the time when he would usually leave work when he got back in his car to head to the station one last time. Night had fallen upon Hawkins and he wasn't surprised to see it was almost nine. He just needed to drop the paperwork from that last intervention on Flo’s desk so she could work on it the next morning, and then he could go home.

He was surprised when he arrived to see that her office’s light was still on. She never forgot to turn it off so it meant she was still there, which didn’t make sense considering how late it was.

Once he got inside he found her waiting for him and stood up when she heard him close the door behind him.

“Jim ?” she called out from her office, sounding worried.

He joined her quickly and dropped the file he was supposed to give her on top of other files. “Is everything alright ?”

She shook her head. “We received another call. A bar fight.”

He groaned. “Don’t tell me I’m the only one left tonight and I have to go.”

“No, no. It was quite a while ago, but Lonnie was involved.”

His expression tensed up at the sound of his name. “Where is he ?”

“He’s been sent home,” she said, her voice filled with dread.

“Fuck,” Hopper muttered. “When ?” 

“Over an hour ago.”

“Did Joyce call ?”

“No, but…” she trailed off. Flo had been in a similar situation more than once. She knew how pointless it was to call the police to tell them your husband had too much to drink, that no one would listen to that.

“Who the fuck sent him home ?” he blew up, already making his way out of the station to go his car.

“Thomson did. I told him not to do it but he didn’t listen.”

“He’s fucking fired, I've had enough of him,” he mumbled. Then he turned to Flo who had followed him outside. “Listen, I’ve got this ok. Go home now, thank you for telling me.”

“Of course.”

He closed the door of his car after he got in and started the engine.

“Jim? Be gentle with her, it’s not as simple as it looks,” Flo told him, uncharacteristically serious.

Hopper stared down at her for a short moment before he nodded. “Thank you, I'll see you tomorrow,” he said again before hitting the gas, living Flo there while he drove in the night toward the Byers' house.

\----------

Everything was quiet now. This evening had been a hard one. The police had brought Lonnie home, again. It was happening more and more often now. He would get wasted, get in trouble, then he would come home one way or another, letting her apologize for his behavior, like if it was her fault. And sometimes, she believed it. He wasn’t like that before they got married. Five years ago, before Will, before Jonathan, he wasn’t like that.

Joyce was sitting in her son’s bed, caressing his hair softly while he slept, holding her baby in her other arm at the same time.

Jonathan was four now, and he was starting to understand. His father scared him and that was breaking her heart. Tonight had been hard on him and once Lonnie had passed out in the bedroom, she had locked herself and her kids in Jonathan’s own room. She knew it was just an illusion of tranquility before he would wake up in the morning, angry at her like if she had been the one making him drink, but it was the best she could do.

Will wiggled against her and started to whine quietly, getting her out of her thoughts. “Shh, it’s ok sweetheart,” she whispered, kissing the top of his tiny head. She reached out to the bedside table where was a bottle she prepared earlier for him. She checked if it was still warm enough before shifting her son in her arms so she could give it to him. He accepted it eagerly and she stared at him, a weak smile on her lips. After a while, her eyes wandered to Jonathan who was sleeping soundly against her.

She needed to get them out of here before it got worse. Last week Lonnie had slapped Jonathan because he had broken a glass when he wanted to help her with the dishes. His cheek stayed horribly red for the rest of the day and he cried every tear he had, which only made Lonnie angrier. He called his son all sorts of names that Joyce was relieved he couldn’t yet understand. He was four years old, for god sake. Four.

It was beyond her how he could completely lose it because of insignificant things, and that was what scared her the most. She never knew what to expect.

She could take it, she didn’t matter. He could hit her, she would cope. But she couldn’t let him hit her boys. She didn’t even have a job, how on earth could she even get away? Joyce closed her eyes against the tears that were starting to form behind her lids. She took a big breath and whipped them against her shoulders to not disturb Will.

The three of them stayed like that for a long time. Will eventually fell back to sleep against his mother and she cuddled him close. Tonight, like many others, she was going to sleep here, in her son’s tiny childbed, her two boys close to her. She couldn’t think about leaving them alone when Lonnie was drunk like that. She was worried sick at this point, what was the next step? What would he do next? She couldn’t even go in her own bedroom without feeling sick because of the fear, when did her life become that?

She was already drifting out, exhausted, when she heard a car pull over in front of the house. She sat up quickly and when she saw the light of the car going off she realized there was really someone here. She got up, careful not to wake Will up, and went to look at the window.

She recognized one of the police’s vehicle and rushed to the door before they would knock and wake Lonnie up. Once outside she frowned at the sight of Hopper who joined her under the porch silently.

“Hop? Is everything ok?” she said before going back to soothing Will who was starting to complain about the sudden movements.

“I don’t know, you tell me,” he responded quietly, looking around, alert. “I learned what happened with Lonnie tonight, where is he ?”

She studied his face for a couple of seconds, not really understanding what was going on. “Huh, he’s asleep. I don’t think he’ll enjoy being woken up.” And that was an understatement. She was silently begging him not to do that because she didn’t want to face the consequences. 

Hopper seemed to relax a bit but he was still looking at her with worried eyes. Maybe, she wasn’t that subtle after all. The day had been long and tiring, she probably wasn’t that good at hiding her emotions anymore in that state.

“I didn’t come for him. Come on, let’s get back inside before you both freeze to death out there.” He placed a hand between her shoulders and pushed her gently toward the door. Once inside he closed it silently and guided her to the living room.

“What’s happening ?” she whispered.

She sat down on the couch and he took a sit on the armchair next to her. “Joyce,” he started softly, “are you alright ?”

She stared at him, confused, then hid her uneasiness by focusing on her baby. “Yeah, I’m fine.” It was an automatic response, really. But talking about this was too much right now, she couldn’t do it.

“Joyce…” he continued gently, thought obviously not believing her. “How was it, tonight ?”

She forced herself to make eye contact. “Fine,” she let out with an awkward shrug. “He just had too much to drink.”

Hopper sighed quietly. He hated Lonnie. He knew she wasn’t fine but he didn’t want to make her do something she didn’t want to do.

“Listen. You called the station two times this month already because of him. Flo is worried sick about you, and she knows. She knows, Joyce. She’s been through that before.” He paused, searching for the right words. “I’m not here to tell you what to do, but if you need anything… Anything, I’m right here.”

She stared back at him way longer than needed, but she didn’t know how to respond. “Thank you, Jim. But… I’ll manage for now.” And she really meant it. As much as she wanted this to stop before something really bad could happen, she needed to manage this on her own. It was complicated enough with only the four of them, she couldn’t let the police get involved in all this because she knew how it would end. Lonnie would always win at this game, that’s just how things worked in cases like that.

He studied her face for a bit, looking for signs that would tell him he needed to insist, but he found none.

When Will started to whine again she cupped his little head in her hand, pressed a kiss on his forehead and murmured soft words to him. In the movement, though, her sleeve fell down her wrist a little, revealing a very red, circular little wound.

“Joyce,” Hopper said, reaching out to brush his fingers against her wrist, moving the sleeve out of the way to give him a better view.

She removed her arm quickly from him, placing it behind her tight where he couldn’t see.

“Did that bastard burn you with his cigarette ?” He was still whispering but the anger was very clear in his voice.

“I’m ok,” she breathed out quickly.

“Joyce,” he repeated.

“I’m ok, Hop,” she insisted. “It… It was the first time, I’m fine.”

He kept staring at her, feeling horribly useless.

“I swear,” she added and it was the truth. As much as she didn’t want to accept the help he was offering, she didn’t want to lie to him. The police couldn’t do anything for her but she knew how precious his friendship was to her in that situation and she didn't want to ruin it by lying to him.

“It doesn’t matter if it was the first time,” he let out. He paused a second, taking a breath, and ran a hand over his face. “Joyce, tell me this isn’t going to happen again. Look at me in the eyes and tell me I’m not going to see more of these on you if I come back next week. Hell, just tell me if you roll back your sleeve I won’t see bruises all over you.”

She looked at him back in the eyes, shaken by his unexpected energy. She was unable to say anything that wasn’t a lie and she just stayed frozen. She felt her eyes starting to swell up and looked away to hide that. He was right, she knew he was right, but it didn’t change anything.

“What do you want me to do, Jim?” she started, voice breaking. “What do you suggest? Whatever I do he’s going to come after me and I know that if he finds me it’s going to be worse than anything that he ever did to us. For now, it’s not that bad, I just need some time to find a solution but I can’t go anywhere, I don’t have money, I don’t have a place, I don’t even have my own car.” She paused, making eye contact again. “I’m sorry, I really, really appreciate that you want to help but trust me, Hop, the police can’t do anything for us.”

She hated the way he looked back at her at that moment, with so much pity and worry. That was the only emotions she seemed to inspire him now. He used to see so much more in her. When they were stupid teenagers, doing stupid things while skyping class. He used to look at her with sparkles in his eyes, communicating to her way more affection than Lonnie ever did by using words. But now he only had pity for her and she could not bear that.

“I’m not here as the police, Joyce. I’m here because you’re my friend. Tell me what I can do. I want to help you but I don’t know how without risking to make things worse. Just ask me anything and it’s done.”

She gave him a weak, tired smile and put one hand on his knee. She was grateful for him but she didn’t have any realistic answer to give him. “Thank you, Hop, really,” she said softly, exhaustion evident in her voice. “But unless you have a job for me, or somewhere to hide…” she trailed off, closing her eyes to take a breath. “Then you can’t do anything more than you already do.”

He kept quiet for a few seconds, thinking. He blinked and got closer to lower his voice even more. “I have somewhere you can hide.”

She frowned, dubitative but willing to hear more.

“Remember my grandad's old cabin in the woods where we used to party during summer ?” he whispered carefully. As she wasn’t saying anything he continued, “It’s empty now, and it’s big enough for you and the boys.”

“Hop…”

“We can go if you want. We can go now.”

“He’s been there too, Hop, he’ll think about it.”

“He won’t know you went with me,” he retorted.

A humorless chuckle escaped her. “You’re the first thing he’ll think about, Jim…” she said with a sorry look on her face.

He sighed, running a hand in his hair. He couldn’t let this go, it was impossible for him to leave her alone with him right now. “But you’ll be safe there, I’ll keep him away.”

She gave him a sad look, and he knew what it meant. It meant she couldn’t do it.

“Joyce…”

“I can’t. I wish I could, God… You have no idea how much I want to say yes but I can’t risk it.” Her voice was still cracking and he gave her that look full of pity again.

“Let me take you away from him,” he begged her. “I know this is risky, but I’ll be there and…” he trailed off and looked away, thinking. “Look, you just told me you could handle it for now, that you just needed some time to figure something out. What if he makes it impossible for you to find anything and you’re stuck here for years and years? Do you want to take the risk to go now, or in ten years when you won’t be able to cope anymore?”

Joyce’s mouth opened, ready to retort, but no sound came out. The look in his eyes had changed, holding no more pity but a mixe of rage and hope.

“I promise I won’t let him touch you ever again,” he added softly, calmer.

“Hop…” she started.

“He’s passed out now, he won’t hear anything. He won’t notice you’re gone until tomorrow.”

“What, like right now?” she said, panic starting to build inside of her 

“Yes, why wait any longer?”

She shrugged quickly. “The kids are asleep, Hopper, it’s late, why would we have to do it now?”

He let out a small breath and reached out to land his hand on her shoulder. “Because we both know that when he’ll wake up he’s going to hurt you again.”

She stared back at him with panicked eyes. “I… I don’t know,” she said quickly.

Hopper got out of his seat and crouched down in front of her. “I can only imagine how hard it is, Joyce. But I swear you’re not alone in this. Let me help you.”

Joyce stayed a long time without speaking, looking at him directly in the eyes. Her face was communicating how afraid she was but she couldn’t really tell anymore which option was scarier. She wrapped her arms tighter around Will’s tiny frame and turned her head toward him. She closed her eyes against a new wave of tears. A lot of what Hopper told her was right and she knew it, but the knot in her stomach was screaming at her not to do that. She inhaled deeply in her amazing baby's smell. If it wasn’t for her, she needed to do it for her boys. Lonnie could find her and she could face the consequences, but at least Will and Jonathan would be with Hopper. She opened her eyes and directed them toward the man in front of her, still waiting for her response.

He gave her a hopeful look, and she could tell he was trying to be reassuring for her.

She took a shallow breath and nodded weakly.

He exhaled at that, letting out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He got up and grabbed her hand to help her on her feet too. He was in action mode now, listening to her as she indicated what needed to be packed and loaded in his car. Less than minutes later, the only piece missing was her older son. She asked Hopper to hold Will while she could go back in the house and the sight of this big, tall man with her tiny boy in his arms made her smile mildly despite the whole situation. Hopper smiled back at her and waited for her right there.

Once in Jonathan’s room, she quickly grabbed his backpack and shoved his favorite toys in it quickly. Then she took a bigger bag and emptied his small closer in it. After that, the tiny bag hanging from one of her shoulders and the biggest one under her left arm, she approached her son.

When she was about to reach out for him she stopped herself, almost against her own will. She realized that once he would be awake, there would be no turning back. She was under the illusion that maybe, she could still go back to Hopper, unload everything they had put in his truck and pretend all of this never happened.

Here, in her son’s room, she closed her eyes and took a big breath. Time felt like slowing down around her, waiting for her decision to go back to its normal pace. When she exhaled, she let her body move before her mind could stop it, and bent down next to Jonathan.

“Wake up, honey,” she murmured while brushing his hair out of his face.

Jonathan groaned in his sleep and turned his head in the other direction to be left alone.

Joyce’s lips curled into a soft smile at that, unable to resist her grumpy little man. “Jonathan, baby. You need to wake up sweetie.”

“Mom?” he grumbled, rubbing his eyes with one hand.

“Get up, we have to go somewhere,” she said softly.

“Now? Is it morning yet?” He opened his eyes and looked at her sleepily, clearly disoriented.

“No, sweetheart, it’s late in the night but we have to go now. Come on.”

He sat up slowly and let her pick him up. She balanced him quickly on her hip as she got out of his room. Without a final glance inside the house, she closed the door behind her and headed toward the car.

\----------

The door of the cabin opened up with a painful squeaking noise, revealing an oddly welcoming dusty living room.

Joyce and Hopper walked in, each of them carrying one of the boys.

“It needs a little cleanup but…”

“It’s perfect, Hop,” she interrupted him. “Anything is better than living with Lonnie.”

“We are not going back ?” Jonathan’s tiny voice startled her. He had his head lining against Hopper's shoulder, clearly fighting against his need to sleep.

Her thoughts stumbled over the different possibilities to respond to that. What was she even supposed to do? How does one respond to their four years old in this situation without creating a trauma?

“You, your brother and your mom are going to stay here for a bit,” she heard Hopper answer.

“How long?” he inquired.

“We don’t know yet, baby. We’ll see,” she jumped in.

After that, Jonathan seemed satisfied with this little informations and kept quiet. Or maybe he was just too tired to question them any more. He just silently observed his new surroundings, dozing off in Hopper’s arms.

Joyce couldn’t help but stare at the pair of them. Never in the entire world, she had ever seen her son this relaxed in his own father arms. Not that he held him a lot, clearly, and it was probably just due to exhaustion from Jonathan’s part, but the image still struck her harder than she thought it would.

What happened after didn't really register into her mind because of how tired she was. Hopper showed her where the bedroom was and left them inside while he went outside to put the power back on. They unloaded his car and cleaned what was necessary in the bedroom before putting the kids to sleep. It was mostly taking off old sheets that were covering some of the furniture and dusting others. It was past midnight when they decided it was enough. Joyce checked on her sons quickly before joining Hopper on the couch, in front of the newly lit wood-burner.

Jonathan was tucked in the bed and Will in his little crib, both soundly asleep. She let out a sigh, relieved to see it didn't seem to have disturbed them too much, at least for now.

"You should go to sleep too, " Hopper said softly to her once she was by his side.

She turned to make eye contact. She was sitting only inches away from him, hugging her knees in an attempt to shield herself from whatever was going to come.

"I don't think I can sleep right now." As much as she was relieved to be away from her husband, the painful knot in her chest was definitely not going to let her get any rest anytime soon. She felt like she was colliding from the inside.

He rubbed her arm gently, making her look at him. “It’s gonna be ok.”

A small chuckle escaped her throat. “You don’t know that,” she let out against her knee, almost whispering.

“Yes, I do. You’re not alone, Joyce, ok? I’m not going anywhere and if that bastard just tries to get near you or the kids I’m gonna shoot him dead.” He paused and looked back at her. He could see how scared she was by the look in her eyes. “This place belongs to me now. He walks in, I can shoot him on the spot and the law’s on my side.”

“I don’t want him dead, Hop. I just… I just want him… Away,” she told him with an awkward shrug.

His eyes softened while looking at her. He exhaled quietly. “Just, trust me on this one ok? I’m the police, protecting people is my job, I know what I’m doing.”

She looked at him with a sad look. “I’m sorry Hop, but I think you have no idea what you’re talking about,” she said quietly with so much sorrow that it made his heart break.

He had no idea if she was right or wrong but she was his friend and right now all he wanted was that she could feel safe. He draped his arm around her shoulders in a protective gesture.

She took it as an invite and leaned against him. Her eyes were tearing up again for what felt like the hundredth time of the day and she heard herself sniffed. “I’m so sorry, Hopper, but I’m terrified he's going to find us,” she finally let out.

“Hey, it’s gonna be ok, I promise,” he responded, wrapping his other arm around her.

Her whole body was aching for comfort at this point, for support. So, she didn’t fight against it when she felt the need to get closer to him. Still curled up in a ball, she leaned completely against his big, warm frame.

He shifted on the couch to be able to hug her properly. “I got you,” he murmured, rubbing her back. “Everything’s going to be just fine.”

“As much as I want to believe it, there’s a whole part of me yelling in my head that I’ve just made the biggest mistake of my life.” She whipped out her tears with her sleeve, not willing to let herself break down completely.

“It’s not, I swear Joyce, it’s not,” he started, pulling back to look at her. “Look, I can only imagine what it must feel like but I promise that no matter how bad it is, it’s only going to get better. In ten years you’re gonna look back at tonight and thank your past self so much for having the courage to do it.”

She stayed silent against him for a moment. “You have no idea how much I want you to be right about that.”

He gave her a crooked smile. “I’m right, believe me.”

She smiled awkwardly back at him before sighing and letting her head fall back on his shoulder. “I wish I could just go to sleep and wake up in ten years then.”

He rested his own head on hers and hummed in agreement. After that, they fell into a comfortable silence. He still had one arm around her and thumped against her shoulder for a while. It clearly was far from perfect but at least they were away from Lonnie here. They had at least a few days before he would find them which was enough time to make the cabin decent again and after that Hopper was planning on doing everything that was needed to keep him away from his friend and her sons.

He felt Joyce shift beside him to get closer and tightened his grip on her in response. Without putting too much thought into it he went ahead and pressed a kiss to her hair. He wondered when was the last time she had had someone to rely on, and hated himself for waiting so long before actually doing something. He should have taken her there a few months ago when he got back to Hawkins and noticed how dull her once so vivid eyes were. Deep down he knew that she probably wouldn’t have accepted his help sooner anyway and the fact that they got out of there before it got worse was a victory on its own but still… She still had to go through all that anyway and it was not ok.

Hopper didn’t only want Lonnie to leave them alone, he wanted him to pay for it. He wasn’t a fool though, he had seen cases like that in New York and the man always got out of it. It wasn’t his choice to take anyway if Joyce wanted to take her revenge he would stand by her side but if not he wouldn’t have any say in this.

 _At least she is safe now_ , he thought to himself. And if Lonnie ever got to touch her again it would be over his dead body.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by the feeling of her hand sliding into his.

“Thank you,” he heard her say. “I would never have been able to do that on my own.”

He took his time to squeeze her hand a little. “You don’t have to thank me,” he let out seriously.

“But I do, and I mean it,” she went on, straightening her back to sit back properly on the couch. When her eyes met his, she smiled weakly but more willingly that he saw her smile tonight. Then she looked away, almost shy, and gave in to a tiny chuckle. “I guess that now you can give me the “I told you so” treatment about Lonnie.”

“I really wish I was wrong back then,” he responded with no humor.

she pinched her lips in acknowledgment. “Should have listened to you.”

He didn’t really know what to say about that so he just stared back at her in silence. He definitely couldn’t deny it, though.

“Don’t you think it’s kind of funny that we end up back here like what? Ten years later?”

He smirked at the memories. “We had the best parties here.”

“Clearly. No one could catch us drink alcohol in the middle of the woods,” she remembered with a soft smile.

“I still don’t understand how my parents never caught us,” he chuckled.

She laughed at that and, God… He had missed this sound so much.

“Do you remember when…” she trailed off

He frowned, still smiling. “What ?”

She worried her lower lip between her teeth, hesitant. “That night, between sophomore and junior year…”

His smile widened, getting immediately what she was talking about. It was during that night, in the porch of this cabin that young and very drunk Joyce and Jim had lock lips for the first time.

“Yeah, I remember,” he told her, the grin not leaving his face.

“Maybe if I had chosen you over Lonnie I would not be in this situation right now,” she said absentmindedly, staring into space.

“Joyce…” he let out, serious.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to act on my teenage fantasies tonight, Hop,” she clarified. Then she frowned too and brought her hands to her face. “Oh God, I’m sorry. I’m really tired, I don’t know what I’m saying anymore.”

He laughed softly, more awkward than amused. He removed his arm than from her shoulders. “I think you should try to sleep.”

She nodded and pointed at him to validate his statement. “Yeah, definitely.”

He watched her as she got up and did the same.

She looked up at him and hesitated a couple of seconds before hugging him. _It’s not weird to hug your friend, Joyce_ , she told herself mentally. “Thank you, Hop, really.”

She was so tiny compared to him, he couldn’t really do anything else than press another kiss to her crown. “You’re welcome, really.”

She stayed in his embrace for what was probably too long but neither of them complained. Even though she still was freaking out, she couldn’t remember when was the last time she felt as safe as in that exact moment. She buried her face deeper in his chest quickly and took in his scent. It hadn't change since high school and she found some comfort in this.

When she finally stepped back they exchanged small smiles and she disappeared into the bedroom. She changed quickly into something more comfortable before checking on her baby. Will was still asleep, just like his brother. There was no doubt he was going to wake up at some point during the night but for now he seemed so peaceful that it made her feel better. Then she slid under the cover next to Jonathan and curled herself around him, careful not to wake him up. She kissed his crown softly and let herself sink in the feeling of being away from her husband. For now, at least, they were truly safe. She knew Lonnie was definitely still passed out and she trusted the man in the other room to keep him from getting close to them.

Eventually, she closed her eyes and tried her best to ignore the knot in her chest. She was more than exhausted which made it easier for her let go. Less than half an hour later she was warm and asleep and, for once, the nightmares didn’t come to wake her up.

On the other side of the door, Hopper had settled himself on the couch, his gun still within arms reach, just in case. In the morning he would go to his car’s radio to ask Flo to bring them a few stuff and fill her in with the situation.

Hawkins being so calm he knew he could also assign one of his men to the cabin, making sure they were safe in case Lonnie would show up. However, Joyce was his friend more than a citizen of the city and if anyone had to do it then he wanted to be the one doing it. He didn’t care how long it was going to take, he would not leave their side until they didn’t him anymore. A long time ago he would have been able to move mountains for her and, if he was honest with himself, he wasn’t surprised to find that it hadn’t changed at all.


	5. Untouched

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joyce and Hopper haven't seen each other for way too long and they can finally share a night together. While having sex, Hopper encounters something new. He's very embarrassed and Joyce very flattered.
> 
> #Smut #KindOfDomestic
> 
> Prompt by Unfable, thank you so much for the idea !

Joyce glanced at her watch. She still had almost an hour to wait until she could close the store and go home. Just like any other day, she hadn’t seen a lot of consumers. Since the mall had opened they were fewer and fewer every week. But unlike any other day, waiting until she could leave was unusually painful, because for once, she had plans.

Tonight both of her boys would not be home. Some times ago she would have felt a bit lonely at the idea of coming home to an empty house. Now she had learned to appreciate those nights because it meant she could see him.

Sitting behind the cash register, she let out a sigh that was bigger than expected. She looked at her watch again to see that only five minutes had passed. Every article was at its right place, with the right price tag, every alley was as clean as possible, the stock-room was tidy. She literally had nothing else to do than wait. Desperately wait, until the clock would strike six o clock and she could finally go.

Out of boredom, Joyce closed her eyes and let her mind wander. Instantly, he appeared behind her lids, smiling at her. She imagined how it was going to feel to be in his arms again after that much time without being able to be intimate. How his hands were going to run on her burning skin, how he would kiss her the moment she was going to let him in. As she was feeling hornier at every passing second imagining his body on her, she decided to stop and opened her eyes again. It would only make the remaining time she had to wait to feel longer.

She reached out under the counter and grabbed a newspaper dating from a week or so. She turned the pages quickly until she found the crosswords and reached for an eraser to wipe out her previous answers. She went through it quite quickly, remembering the words from the previous time she had done the puzzle.

A bit more than fifteen minutes later she jumped slightly at the sound of the bell announcing a new consumer. She raised her head to greet the newcomer but words left her mouth at the sight of Hopper. Her lips smiled at him by themselves and he grinned back to her.

“What are you doing here ?” she asked him, getting out of her seat to meet him. But instead of answering he joined her behind the counter and closed the distance between them completely. His lips crashed on hers and Joyce mechanically stretched on her tiptoes, wrapping one arm around his middle. 

“I couldn’t wait,” he mumbled against her lips when he pulled back.

"Aren't you supposed to be at the station?"

"Slow day, got home early. Just dropped El at the Wheeler's. I'm all yours," he said, this grin not leaving his lips. He went down and kissed her again, communicating his impatience. Then in one too easy move, he scooped her up and put her down on the counter. 

Joyce gasped at that but his lips muffled the sound of it "Hop," she said against him. "Hop, stop. Not here."

He groaned quietly and took a look around. "I don't see anyone."

She tried hard to conceal her smile, not wanting to encourage his behavior, but her mouth didn't obey. "Stop that," she said with a small laugh, not making a single move to slip away from him.

"Make me," he responded with malice before kissing her again.

She kissed him back with way too much energy for someone who was still at work. But his hands were everywhere on her and his lips were so soft and full and teasing, and his tongue was against hers and she was simply not able to push him away. She felt his hands slowly but surely make their way down her back until they finally were on her butt. She whined at the shivers it sent down her spine when he squeezed it shamelessly.

When they eventually parted she shook her head at him. "How old are you?" she reprimanded him.

He chuckled softly. "Old enough."

She laughed too and her breath caught as his hands repeated their crime.

He stole another quick kiss and rested his forehead against hers. “I’ve missed you” he breathed out.

She looked up at him in the eyes. “I’ve missed you too.”

“Three weeks is too long.” His hands let go of her ass so he could wrap his arms around her and press closer.

She hummed in agreement, closing her eyes as she buried her face in his neck. This relationship was still pretty new to them and they decided to keep it to themselves for now. What they had was definitely very intense and real but if the past had taught them one thing was that it didn’t really mean anything. It had been like that before. Just like now, they had been so close and so in love that every day spent apart from one another felt like burning. And still, they had split up eventually. But now it wasn’t just them, they had their kids to think about and they didn’t want to make them think that it was becoming something it wasn’t. they didn’t want them to imagine it would last forever when they had no idea if it would.

That's why they had decided to keep it to themselves for now. But it meant having to hide and it awfully felt just like when they were teenagers. But back then they could always find at least one moment during the day to be together, now their adult life was terribly getting in the way. He would come to visit her at Melvald's every time he could and steal not so innocent kisses from her lips but it was very far from being enough. He loved to spend the entire afternoon with her at work, talking about nothing in particular but they sometimes needed to let way at more primitive behaviors. More than once she had had to calm him down and resist as he pleaded for her to let him make love to her in the backstop. 

Remembering herself, Joyce pulled back from him and took a look around outside the shop to make sure no one was seeing them. Because she would no doubt get fired, considering the position they were in right now.

“Go home with me.”

She turned her attention back to Hopper, who was looking at her with this look in his eyes he seemed to only have for her.

She let out a tiny sigh. “Not now, Hop. It’s too early, I can’t leave work right now.”

"Please," he carried on, going down to kiss her again.

She moaned in his mouth, trying hard to resist him. "Jim. I can't. Just wait for half an hour."

He ignored her and after verifying that no one was in sight outside he reached out for her butt again. This time though, instead of squeezing he pulled her toward him in one powerful movement. She gasped at that and pressed closer too at the feeling of his growing erection against her groin.

"Jim," she mumbled, another vain attempt to stop him.

"No one will notice you closed early," he said quickly before dedicating his lips to another activity.

He wasn't wrong. Today she only saw three people walk in, and just one during the afternoon. What was the odds that someone would come now?

And at this point, she couldn't really think straight anymore. His mouth left hers to go to her neck. He was holding her tight with one arm wrapped around her waist while his other hand was going from her ass to her breast. He was nipping at her skin just below her jaw and his lips were so soft and she had missed the gentle scratch of his beard so much.

Her eyes were long closed and she let out a breath in pleasure. It was scary how it felt exactly just like when they were teenagers, skipping classes to make out anywhere they could hide.

It was so easy to give in. To let him take control. And it felt so good to be able to trust someone that much.

It was just thirty short minutes. She always had been a perfect employee, and she surely worked for one or two minutes more than what she was supposed to way more than thirty times. She could go home thirty minutes early on a very slow day once…

She let her head fell against his and her lips found his ear. "Ok," she whispered.

He pulled back and looked at her.

"Let's go home."

His face lightened up and he pulled her off the counter.

\------

Joyce was the first one to get out of her car and she went straight to her door to unlock it. He was behind her in an instant and pressed himself against her back in impatience. He bent down to kiss her neck and even if the angle was almost painful he took his time to drive her mad.

Joyce exhaled at the feeling of him being so close and so impatient. She struggled to put the key in the lock and a low chuckle resonated in his throat.

Once they eventually got in, Hopper pressed her against the door in one perfect move. She gave in to one kiss before returning to her right mind and put a hand on his mouth to stop him. She pressed a finger to her lips to indicate him he needed to be quiet, as if anyone could have missed their entrance.

"Boys? I'm home!" She called out tentatively. After several seconds with no answer, she went on, "Will? Jonathan?"

When no one responded, Hopper bent down to crash his lips on hers again but she slipped away from his mouth. Knowing that her sons could take some time to appear when she got home she needed to be sure. "Anybody home?"

"They're not here, " he mumbled in a hurry.

Once she seemed to be satisfied with the amount of time she had waited for an answer she nodded quickly and Hopper knew it was the green light.

Instantly he picked her up to get rid of the high difference. Just as predicted, he heard her moan in his neck. He liked to have that effect on her. She had told him once how much it annoyed her to be so turned on by such cliché moves. She liked to feel his strength whenever he effortlessly scooped her up with only one arm, so he made a point to always do it.

Hopper rocked his length against her without meaning too, he somehow only harder while they were going home and his pants were already unbuttoned.

He used to be able to get led almost on command. He always had been able to find a woman for one night. But now it was Joyce. Just Joyce. And as their own schedules could be so hectic it was difficult to find moments like this where they could be alone together. It was hard for him to wait so long to be able to be with her, in every sense of the word.

Just as she would always do, Joyce completely abandoned herself to him now that they were in a safe place. She was responding to him with as much need and heat, and it took no more than an instant before her tongue slipped into his mouth.  
Her legs were wrapped around his hips, her fingers tangled in his hair. Hopper let out a groan that seemed to turn her on even more.

Without really realizing it, he moved them from against the door and started to walk toward the bedroom. He slipped a hand under her shirt, ran his fingers against the skin of her back, and smiled to himself when she parted slightly from him to catch her breath.

When in front of her room, he pressed her against the door while he reached for the handle. Once inside, he dropped her on the bed and position himself on top of her before they both started to get rid of their clothes frantically.

Joyce was surprised to see that he had managed to undo her bra at some point and he shot her a proud mischievous look just before diving in to kiss her neck. With one hand he cupped one of her breasts and thumbed over her nipple. He licked her right above the collarbone which, combined to everything else, made her whine in need.

Hopper could literally drown in her noises when they were having sex. He had been with a whole lot of women but only one of them could undo him so easily just with her moans. At the sound of it, his now very naked cock twitched involuntarily.

He ran his hand down her body and reached the hem of her panties. He looked at her for approval and when he found what he was looking for he slid his fingers under it. It took him a short moment to find her clit but once he started to rub it Joyce choked on a groan. His hard length jumped again and the smile on his lips was now invincible. After a moment he stopped what he was doing and, very slowly, slid one finger inside of her.

That simple gesture sent her completely over the edge. It was a way less sensitive spot than her clit but it was his finger and he was deep inside of her and it had been so fucking long since the last time… She arched her back in the feeling and stopped breathing.

Hopper watched her in aw as he moved his finger inside of her. He started slowly with one, pumping, twirling and curling inside of her. Then he added another one, and eventually a third one.

She was becoming louder and louder against his neck and he knew he wasn't going to last very long if she kept making those noises.

Continuing what he was doing, he bent down to meet her lips. He forced himself to be slower and more gentle, matching the pace she liked. He kissed her deeply.

After a moment he removed his hands from her panties and positioned himself between her legs.

She locked them around him, bringing him closer. Uncontrollably, he pressed his cock hard against her, making them both sigh in desire. He rocked against her and Joyce moved her hips to meet his at the same pace. At this point, she was burning to feel him completely inside of her. She wanted him to pound hard in her, to make her scream his name until she would forget her own. She reached out to grab his ass so she could press closer to him and he groaned in her hair.

Finally, she moved to take her panties down but he stopped her. He met her gaze and she dived into the intensity of his blue eyes. He kissed her once again before pressing his lips to her neck, her collarbone, between her breasts, … He kissed his way down her body until his mouth was hovering over her sex.

He looked up at her again and grinned mischievously before removing the last piece of her clothes. As soon as it touched the floor he was kissing her where she needed it the most.

Joyce's breath stopped again and her hands clenched the sheets.

Being used to her body, Hopper found her clit instantly with his tongue. He licked it once, twice, very slowly but firmly enough.

She let go of her breath before one of her hands found its way to his hair.

He grabbed her hips and pulled her closer to him, then dived into her without a second thought. He began by sucking gently and watched her as she closed her eyes at the sensation. After a while she started to move her hips against him, asking for more, so he gave it to her with a smile on his very occupied lips. He nipped her clit softly wich made her cry in both surprise and pleasure and the sound sent a new wave of heat directly to his cock.

He groaned against her and the vibrations it created made her whimper again. He held her more firmly against him as she was wiggling away involuntarily. His mouth then moved to go lower and he slipped his tongue slightly inside of her. His nose was now pressing against her sensitive spot and she was making more and more maddening noises.

Hopper was eating her out shamelessly, enjoying it deeply in silence while her moans were filling the room. Against his own will, he pressed his groin hard against the mattress to shut up his urge to be inside of her. Each and everyone of the sounds she was making was going directly to his hard length and he was way beyond aroused at this point. Every inch of his skin was burning with desire but he knew that he definitely wasn't going to last long for her so it was a better idea to go down on her first. And to be honest, he loved doing it just as much.

At the very beginning of their relationship, they had spent hours exploring each other's bodies, teaching and learning how and where they liked to be touched. With rosy cheeks and her bottom lips worried between her teeth, she had murmured to him things she never told anyone before, and he had obeyed her with great pleasure.

So he knew exactly what he needed to do for her. He was well aware of the effect every one of his moves had on her and it was confirmed by her reactions to his touch.

Her breath was quickening, indicating she was getting closer and Hopper was pressing himself harder and harder against the matters. She was pulling at his hair without meaning too but he didn't mind it one bit. It was turning him on even more, if it was actually possible at this point.

With one hand he reached out to her breast and squeezed it. Her back arched again and the sight of it, from this angle, was unbelievable. If he had had any doubts that she was the sexiest thing on earth, they would have disappeared at that exact moment. Every inch of her skin was making him go mad.

Feeling her getting closer, he dipped two fingers in her and reached that spot that would always undo her completely.

She was almost screaming then and God… She would drive him mad with those moans of hers. To think that he was the cause of them was too much for him. He was so close himself already it was ridiculous. Almost rocking against the bed in a vain attempt to calm his need, he focused harder on her.

She was whimpering his name, her whole face contracted in pleasure. He brushed that perfect spot inside of her with his fingers and she almost choked. He did it again, knowing perfectly what he was doing and she pressed his face closer to her with her hand.

Then, finally willing to give her what she wanted, he pressed his fingers hard exactly where he was supposed to. She clenched her hand hard in his hair and her breath stopped completely for three long seconds. He looked at her with bliss, knowing exactly what was to come.

Then, she let it out violently in one big moan followed by a myriad of other quieter groans as he continued to work on her to make sure he was giving her everything. Her legs were shaking, her cheeks were as red as possible, his name was on her lips. Hopper knew he had done it right for her.

Her voice cracked in one final whimper and it was too much for him. He needed to be inside of her right now. Quickly, he reached out to touch himself, completely unable to resist the urge anymore. He only pressed his finger hard around himself once and that was it. Taking him totally by surprise, his own orgasm washed over him and he groaned loudly against her inner thigh. Eyes tightly shut, he spilled on the sheet, unnoticed.

This woman was definitely going to be the death of him. Never in his entire life the mere fact of hearing a woman enjoying his work had been enough to make him come.

Once Joyce had caught her breath she pulled him up to be at her high and kissed him eagerly.

"I love you," she breathed out against his lips.

"I love you," he mumbled, his vision still blurry.

He laid down and collected her in his arms. For a moment they kissed slowly, content to share this moment together. After a short while she slid her hand down his torso, her aim obvious.

"Huh, Joyce," he said quickly

She hummed in response, to let him know she was listening, but her hand didn't stop its quest, determined to carry on with the night. When it reached his length she found him already soft.

She met his eyes in confusion to see him blush like a child. "I, hum."

She frowned a bit but also grinned at the same time. "Did you already come?"

He froze for one second, feeling even more naked than he was and looked horribly embarrassed. He swallowed. "I'm sorry."

Joyce chuckled softly. "Just from getting down on me?"

"It's been too long! Don't laugh at me!" he said, distressed.

"I'm not," she told him, concealing another chuckle. "I'm flattered, to be honest."

A laugh finally escaped him too. Not that he was scared of her reaction, because she was Joyce and he knew it was fine, but he was still relieved at how well she was taking it. "What can I say? You're hot!"

With a wide grin on, she pressed closer and kissed him with more tenderness than before. "Come on… You had hotter ones before."

He looked at her with sudden indignation. "This is the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

"Nice try but I know I'm right, " she said as she shoved him slightly.

"Joyce, seriously. You're the sexiest woman I ever slept with," he told gently. "This," he continued, pointing at his now completely soft penis, "never happened to me before."

She looked at him with more seriousness than intended, surprised by his words. 

"I swear to God Joyce, you don't realize how hot you are."

As she was still staring at him, he carried on softly. "The way you move, your fingers in my hair… Hell, your noises! Those alone are too much for any man to take, babe. Your smell, your taste... I could go one forever."

He gazed back into her wide eyes and brushed a strand of hair out of her face gently. She had this glimmer in her eyes that he recognized from every time he had told her something meaningful. It was impossible for him to conceive that he was the first one to ever say this to her. But there she was, looking the exact same than when he had told her he loved her for the first time. He ran his fingers on her cheek and thumbed on her lips before leaning in to press his against hers. 

"I'm not so old that I'm becoming a premature ejaculator. You're just damn hot."

She laughed softly and brushed her nose against his. "I never thought that I would one day receive a declaration of love containing the words 'premature ejaculator' "

He laughed too and ran another hand in her hair. "Just give me a moment and I'll show you what I originally intended to do to you, " he said as he grabbed her ass and pulled her closer in one quick move 

She wrinkled her nose with mischief. "Can't wait. The appetizer was already quite impressive."

"Wait until you see the main course."

After that, she shut him up with yet another kiss. He was smiling against her lips and let his hand went up her back slowly.

"Speaking about that, dinner?" he asked.

"Yes please, I'm starving, " she replied.

After a final squeeze at her butt, Hopper got on his feet and put his boxers on before he headed toward the kitchen, Joyce right behind him with his shirt on.

"I'm cooking tonight," he announced.

She hurried to be at his side and laced her fingers with his. “You don’t have to go all out you know, I’m already in love with you,” she said with a soft grin.

He looked down at her and smiled back. “I don’t want anything, you just deserve it.”

She pressed against his arm, touched, and let go of his hand to wrap her arm around his waist.

That night, he did his best to impress her with his cooking skill, achieving it more or less. It was a relieve to be able to be themselves, all alone in this house. They were in a better mood when they didn’t have to hide and pretend that nothing was happening between them. Having to not be seen was exciting sometimes but behaving like a simple normal couple felt even better. They didn’t know how long they could last meeting in secret like that, and both of them already knew that the day would come when one of the kids would see them eventually. But for now, they were content with what they had. 

Later, when they got back in bed, how showed her how he clearly was able to last for a very long time.


	6. Untouched 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hop and Joyce spend the weekend together in his cabin, still hiding from the kids. This are some glimpses of them during those three days behaving sometimes like a damn married couple, sometimes like freakings teenagers. Basically just fluffy stuff and a bit of them wondering where they're at in their relationship.
> 
> #Fluff #Domestic #BitOfSmut

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A really big thank you to Unfable for the prompt that inspired the first chapter of this <3
> 
> TW :
> 
> Friday 10:52 pm --> Alcohol  
> Saturday, 3:21 am --> Soft smut  
> Sunday, 12:21 pm --> Pre smut

\-- Friday - 6:23 pm --

Hopper groaned as he hit the braked to stop at the light. He contemplated the idea of running the red light but there were people around and it would definitely not give the chief of Police a good image.

He was late. They were supposed to meet at half-past six but he left the station way latter than anticipated. He promised her the dinner would be ready when she would get there but there was no way it was going to be possible, and on top of that, he desperately needed a shower. He could not welcome Joyce while stinking like this.

The second the light turned to green again he stepped on the gas and drove fast toward his cabin. For once, he wished she could be late. It was honestly not that much of a big deal, but he wanted to do things right tonight, and it wasn't starting off very well.

When he arrived, he was relieved to see that her car wasn't here yet. He got out of his blazer quickly and unpacked the chicken he had put aside to defrost. Once it was ready to cook he stopped, processing whether it was a good idea or not to let it on the heat while he was taking his shower. Then, deciding it was a risk worth taking, he put in the pan and reduced the flames to a low setting.

After that, he turned around to take a look at the place he was living in. Luckily, it was already tidy enough, except for one or two items that were definitely not where they belonged to but Joyce could forgive him for that. Quickly, he focused on setting the table.

He grabbed his nicest (and only) tablecloth from a cupboard, shook it a bit in an attempt to get rid of the creases and laid it on his small table. Then it was time to select nice tableware which led him to lose time while selecting a matching pair of glasses. Once everything was at it right place, Hopper gave it a final look before mentally validating his choices and turned his attention back to the chicken. He flipped them over for good measure, even though it was unnecessary considering how low the heat was.

He was ready to hop into the shower but a noise outside made him stop. A quick glance informed him that Joyce had just pulled over, making him swear under his breath. For a couple of seconds, he contemplated the idea of taking the quickest shower in history but his right mind informed him it was clearly not going to work.

He hurried to the bathroom to fix his hair at least, and sprayed some deodorant very quickly before he heard her knock on his door.

As much as stressed out he was because of how late he was, he felt his entire body relax at the sight of her. He smiled brightly at her and she smiled back with the same amount of mischief.

"Hi," she let out, somewhere between relieved and playful.

"Hi," he replied before stepping aside to let her in.

Before he even had the chance to close the door she was pressed against him, stretched on her tiptoes to kiss him hello. His arms found their usual spots around her frame and she could feel him grin against her lips.

She pulled away with a small sigh and let her bag fall on the floor to take him in her arms completely as he kicked the door shut.

They only had been able to see each other for a couple of hours during the previous week, and the one before they had almost got caught by Jonathan. This time, they had the entire weekend just for themselves and it had never happened before. Will and El were at the Wheelers for two nights while her eldest had planned a little trip out of the city for Nancy and himself.

"I missed you," he mumbled against her hair.

"Don't even start me on that," she groaned while tightening her grip around him. Her nose pressed against his chest, she took a couple of deep breaths of his scent before looking up at him to meet his eyes.

“I’m sorry, I know I promised you dinner would be ready but we got a late call and I just got home. I didn’t even have time to take a shower yet.”

“It’s fine,” she shrugged and slipped away from him. “Go take your shower, I’ll cook.”

His shoulders fell, defeated, while he tried to stop her from getting closer to the stove by tugging on her hand. “No, you always cook for me.”

She turned around to look at him. “No, you cooked for me the other night.”

“It was like, two months ago,” he protested.

She sighed amusedly before getting closer. “We have the whole weekend just for ourselves, you can do it tomorrow.” She leaned up and pecked his lips. “Go take your shower.”

He groaned, annoyed with himself, but decided to comply anyway. He kissed her again, this time more lingering and finally let go of her to disappear into the bathroom. Joyce watched him leave with a soft smile on her lips.

\-- Friday 9:29 pm --

Joyce struggled to keep her eyes open as she came back to reality. The warmth of his body beneath her and the noises from the television were the first thing she noticed before stretching out.

"Hello again," he mumbled, sounding also half asleep.

She groaned and tried to move a bit but his arms around her kept her close to his chest. "How long have I been out?"

"Almost an hour."

She groaned again. "I'm never gonna be able to sleep tonight."

He chuckled softly, causing some tremors as she was laying on top of him. "Who said anything about sleeping?"

She snorted, rubbing her eyes. "Right."

He brushed some hair away from her face and looked at her with way more fondness than he realised.

"I'm sorry I fell asleep."

"It's ok, " he said. "Long day?"

She let out a big breath. "Long week. You were all I could think about today, I just wanted my shift to be over."

"Hell, me too. I was so ready to leave when we received that late call."

She hummed in agreement, snuggling closer to him.

"How was El this afternoon?"

"Very excited," she said with an obvious smile in her voice. Joyce had suggested she could pick the girl up before dropping Will to the wheelers as her shift was ending earlier than his. They didn't even need to mention the fact that it meant they would be able to meet sooner.

"She gets to spent almost three whole day with Mike, I bet she was."

She chuckled in his neck. "You holding up?"

He let out a breath. "Guess I don't have any say in this anyway."

Joyce lifted her head to look at him, an eyebrow rose in suspicion. "Who are you and what have you done to my boyfriend?"

Hopper snorted. "Shut up! No matter what I say it won't change anything so why do I even bother?"

"Well, you surely have made some huge progress," she said, emphasizing the ‘huge’, and returned to her former position against him.

He stayed silent for a bit before he spoke again. " 'Boyfriend'... I love when you call me that."

She smiled but didn't add anything.

"It's sweet, " he went on.

"My sweetheart, " she topped it.

He laughed softly and rubbed her back. It was started to get a bit cold and the woodstove clearly needed a refill. Neither of them wanted to move so he grabbed a blanket left there and wrapped it around them.

\-- Friday 10:52 pm --

An empty bottle of wine was laying on the ground, close to a few cigarette butts that didn’t make it to the ashtray and various chips crumbs. Another opened bottle of red was on the coffee table in front of the TV that was on more for background noise purposes than anything else at that point.

The room was filled with Joyce's laughter as Hopper was telling her about Mr. Pendleton's fifth call of the week and how Flo had yelled at him about the “fat squirrel stealing his apples” and that, no, they were not going to send someone to catch it.

She was deliciously drunk, unlike him who was used to much bigger quantities of alcohol. She couldn’t hold back the sparkles in her eyes while she was watching him play the scene for her. He had the ability to make her laugh as not many others could and he was more than happy to do so.

“Do squirrels even eat apples ?” she asked, wiping a tear that had fallen under her eyes from laughing so much.

He let himself plop back on the couch, an arm around her shoulders. “I’m so sure it’s a raccoon.”

She burst out laughing again.

“I think that if he calls one more time Flo is going to lose it.”

Still chuckling, she leaned against him, almost spilling her drink in the movement. Hopper took it from her and put on the coffee table, clearly amused by how cute she was while being drunk.

“You think it’s funny but try to feel legit when all the calls you receive are like this,” he said, trying to sound disappointed.

“Ho please, I want to see you running after a raccoon mister Chief of Police”

He smiled around the cigarette between his lips before he took it away to speak. “In your dreams,”

“Please,” she insisted.

“No,” he said softly, chuckling too.

She pouted and took a drag of her own cigarette. 

Hopper shook his head and took a sip of wine.

Leaning against him, Joyce turned her attention to the television. "What are we watching?"

"I have no idea, you put that channel on."

"Ah." She paused. "When did I do that?"

Hopper chuckled again. "I think you had enough wine for tonight."

"I'm an independent woman, you don't get to tell me what to do, " she stated, straightening her back so she was no longer against him. "Where’s my drink?" she added, confused.

"Where you can't spill it, miss independent" he responded, handing it back to her.

"Thank you." She said shortly. "Don't judge me."

"I don't. You're very cute."

She took the glass away from her lips and looked at him with narrowed eyes. "Now you're trying to buy me."

Hopper laughed at that. "Buy you for what?"

"I don't know. I haven't figured it out yet."

Once again, he shook his head at her, enjoying the entertainment she was when she was in that state. "I love you," he let out almost without thinking.

In front of him, she seemed to melt and placed a hand on her chest. "I love you too," she said as her hand moved to rest on his cheek.

They stayed like this for a couple of seconds, looking at each other right in the eyes.

"This is cute and all but it still won't work."

He sighed, but his eyes were still shimmering while looking at her. "Can you please tell me what won't work because I'm a bit confused."

She looked away and seemed to think hard about it for a moment before she spoke again. "You're trying to buy me into stopping drinking."

He laughed again. "You've seen right through me."

"Ah!" She pointed at him. "I knew it!"

"I can't hide anything from you," he continued to play along.

She gave him a smile that was probably supposed to be a proud one and gulped the rest of her drink. She put it back on the table but brought her hand back to her mouth to cover a burp. "Ok, it was my last one."

His face lit up. "So, I won?"

"No, because I took the decision to stop on my own."

\-- Saturday, 3:21 am --

Joyce sighed softly as he slid inside of her. She always felt deliciously full every time they were making love. She locked her arms around him, tangling her fingers in his hair.

He was going for a quick pace right from the beginning and she knew he was doing it for her. She liked it better when it was fast and hard but he loved it when they took their time. Hopper pressed his lips in the crook of her neck and shamelessly sucked at her skin, clearly aware of the marks it was leaving.

But right now Joyce’s mind was too far away to even think about stopping him. She loved his way of moving on top of her and the feeling of his weight pressing her body down was very welcome. She loved how mindful of her body and desires he was, and how much of a selfless lover he could be. She loved his groans and moans too, communicating that he was appreciating it just as much as her. But most importantly, she loved how much she trusted him.

She knew he would never complain about her insecurities and that he didn’t mind having to adapt to her. She also knew he would stop whenever she might ask him too, and he would only look at her with genuine concern instead of those reproaching glares Lonnie used to have for her.

Their relationship could be complicated sometimes, and it needed a lot of talks and compromises, but being intimate with him was so easy. And it felt good. So good.

Their noises were filling the room and they were both grateful for being in the middle of the forest because it meant they could be as loud as they wanted. After a delicious while, as her first orgasm of the week-end washed over her, Joyce moaned his name and dug her nails into his skin.

She would give anything to feel this good every day.

\-- Saturday, 10:53 am --

Joyce reached out to his side of the bed but found it empty. She opened her eyes wincing against the sun and it confirmed that he was not here anymore.

After five more minutes, she sat on the bed and looked around for her clothes… that still were in the living room, she remembered. She spotted Hopper's shirt that he left on the floor the day before after his shower, and settled on that.

When she left his bedroom she found him at the stove, visible cooking something, and also very naked.

She smirked at the sight of his butt facing her and approached him. Once next to her man, she grabbed his arm and put it around her shoulders so she could press against his side.

"Good morning," she said.

"Good morning," he responded, rubbing her arm up and down with his hand.

"Cooking breakfast?"

"Wanted to surprise you with breakfast in bed but just ruined everything," he let out, sounding excessively disappointed.

"Ha… Well, I can still go back to bed and pretend I didn't see anything."

He snorted. "Yes, please."

"Ok!" She said, concealing a laugh, before grabbing a bit of pancake from the plate next to him and started to leave his side.

But before she could go anywhere, he reached out to take her hand and pulled her toward him, capturing her within his arms. He bent down to give her a proper, lingering, kiss.

"Did you sleep well?"

She nodded in response, resting her head against his bare chest.

"No nightmare?"

"No, I sleep better when I'm with you."

She had said that to him already in the past, she rarely had any nightmares when they were together. It made him feel both sad and important at the same time. It was hard to imagine her having late panic attacks in the loneliness of her room when he wasn’t there to soothe her back to sleep. But at least he had the ability to conceal her anxiety a little bit when he was with her. Hopper simply held her tighter for a few seconds before she parted from him to have a look at what he was cooking.

He took a look at her and smirked. His shirt was so big on her that it looked like a dress, the sleeves rolled up a fair amount of time so her tiny hands could be free from the fabric. “Don’t you know it is forbidden to wear a police uniform when you are not one?”

She turned to him. “Are you going to arrest me?” she responded with the same amount of malice.

“Maybe, you enjoyed it the last time, if I remember correctly,” he whispered in her ear, playfull.

Joyce blushed and bit her lips in embarrassment, indicating him he was damn right.

He chuckled in victory and pressed a kiss to her temple. Then he grabbed the pan and added the new pancake to the pile.

“At least I’m wearing something.”

“As if you didn’t like that,” he shot back, referring to his very undressed status. “Actually, I think you should do the same. There’s way too much fabric on this magnificent body of yours.”

“You would get tired of me,” she said while watching him pouring a new batch of dough in the pan. 

“What?”

“That’s what Lonnie used to tell me. To stop wandering around naked or else he would get tired of me.”

He looked at her with astonishment. “That bastard never deserved you,” he stated when she made eye contact. 

She paused a moment. “Maybe,” she shrugged slightly and looked away.

“I’m telling you Joyce, no man in his right mind would get tired of what you have under this. This is such bullshit, I can’t believe he said that to you.”

“And I can’t believe I married him, so I guess we’re even,” she let out in a breath.

Hopper didn’t respond to her right away, focusing on flipping the pancake over in one expert move of his wrist. It took off from the pan to gracefully flip over before landing back in it.

“Are you trying to impress me?” she started, taking the opportunity to change the subject.

He smiled at himself. “Is it working?”

“A little bit.”

His smile got wider and he let go of the panhandle to grab her waist and pull her closer. With a quick move, he pecked her lips once, twice, before giving in to a real kiss. He tried to imagine getting tired of this woman. How could this be even possible? How could one even get bored of the way she clung to his neck with one hand and to his torso with the other? He knew that it was easier for her to believe his actions more than his words so he tried to communicate how amazing it felt to be with her in this short embrace. When he pulled away, a small moan escaped her mouth.

“I definitely won’t ever get bored of doing that,” he whispered close to her.

She smiled softly at his attempt to ease her and silently decided to believe him.

After a few seconds, he spoke again, “So, what’s the plan for today, Ms…” he posed, pretending to have a look to the name tag on the shirt, “Hopper.”

She laughed and smiled brightly at him. “Oh, I like the sound of that.”

He smiled back, that special smirk he only had for her. “Be careful, don’t encourage me or I’m gonna be really tempted to make a mistake.”

She stared back into his eyes while biting her lower lip, measuring her next words. “Maybe I do want you to make that mistake,” she whispered.

He took a breath, half chuckling. Was she really saying what he thought she was saying? Before he could think about it too much he opened his mouth again. “Let’s talk about this again in a few years, maybe.”

She pinched her lips in agreement, but kept her smile on, and gave him a tiny nod. “Today I thought we would just chill out, maybe take a walk if we’re not too lazy.”

He raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Did you, Joyce Byers, just suggested we could ‘chill out’? My God, we’ve made tremendous progress,” he said, accentuating almost every word.

She shoved him on the shoulder, trying hard to conceal a smile. “Shut up.”

“Never,” he let out, not resisting to kiss her again.

\-- Saturday 11:48 am --

Joyce was standing on her tiptoes, trying to get a better view on her neck in his bathroom mirror hanging high above the sink. She let out a big sigh, voluntarily loud enough for him to hear it from the living room.

“I can’t believe you did that!” she called out.

In the next room, Hopper smiled to himself, silently proud. “For it matters, you seemed to enjoy it quite much while I was doing it,” he shot back.

“Jim !” she whined, exasperated. “I’m forty-six, I can’t be walking around with a hickey like some kind of teenagers!”

His head appeared in the door frame “It suits you.”

Joyce side-eyed him, clearly not amused by the situation.

“Oh come on, babe, it'll be gone by Monday.”

She got back on her heels with another sigh and turned toward him. He got closer and hugged her from behind. 

“It better be,” she told him, making eye contact through the mirror.

He smiled at her, still clearly proud of his mischief before dropping a kiss on her hair. Then he turned her around and captured her mouth with his before she could complain any further.

“Our first weekend just by ourselves, we should make the most of it.”

She snorted. “And this is your idea of it ?” she retorted, pointing at her neck.

He laughed too. “Definitely.”

“I can’t believe you sometimes.”

He kissed her smile one more time before speaking again. “I think it’s hot. You turn me on even more like that.” He took a step back, not letting her hands go and pretended to take a better look at her.

She rolled her eyes. “What does not turn you on, exactly ?”

\-- Saturday, 4:41 pm --

He got inside first, followed by her only a few seconds after as they were coming back from a walk in the forest. Joyce closed the door after her and take her scarf off.

“I don’t know, I just thought it would be nice to spend Christmas together,” he told her.

“Of course it would! But it’s in, like, three months, why do we need to plan this now?”

He shrugged casually, hanging his coat on the coat rack before taking hers to do the same. “Because I had the idea so I thought I would tell you about it.”

She bit her lips while looking at him. She knew he was suggesting it for a whole other reason and she didn’t know how to address it. She took her shoes off before deciding to just go for it. “But it means telling the kids about us.”

Going to check the woodstove, he sighed silently. “We’ll have to eventually, you know.”

“Of course, but there’s no rush,” she told him, sitting on the armrest of the couch.

“We’ve been together for almost a whole year, Joyce, that’s not what I call ‘rushing it’,” he responded softly but the disappointment was obvious in his voice.

She stayed silent for a bit, dropping her gaze from him to her fingers. “Please don’t be mad at me,” she said quietly.

“I’m not mad at you,” he let out, getting up to sit on the couch next to her. “But I don’t understand why you’re so… reluctant to the idea.”

She shifted on the armrest to face him but only gave him a shrug by way of an answer.

“Don’t get me wrong, honey, I love to be your little secret. I really do. But I also feel like we’re ready to go to the next step you and me.”

“We are,” she agreed, raising her hand to cup his cheek. “We definitely are. But I’m not sure I want to leave that phase that we’re in now.”

He knitted his brows slightly. “What do you mean?”

She shrugged again. “I don’t know, I like it that way. Of course, it’s hard to only see you once in a while, but…” she trailed off, and sighed. “But it feels good to be in our own bubble, out of the world.”

“Telling the kids about it doesn’t mean to pop the bubble,”

“I know but, once they know, then it won’t be long until the whole town knows and I’m scared it’s going to change something between us.”

“Why would it?” he asked, genuinely not understanding what she was talking about.

“I don’t know,” she let out quietly. “It feels like letting the world in, and I don’t want anyone to think they have a say in this.”

Hopper didn’t see things this way, but he surely understood where it came from. He put one hand on her waist before saying “They can talk, I don’t give a shit about what they think. We both pulled through an insane amount of rumors, I think we can handle that.”

“Of course but it’s not the same thing. They can talk about me, I don’t care, I’m used to it. But this,” she gestured between them, “this means too much to me, and I’m not eager to find out what they will make up to find new ways to drag us down.”

He felt his heart soften at this. He hadn’t realized it might have been something that was holding her back. “C’mere,” he mumbled, pulling her by the waist so she would sit next to him. “Their words won’t change anything for us,” he told her, holding her close.

“I don’t know…” she said softly, letting out a breath.

“I know,” he went on. “And remember, Chief of Police here, from now on I will arrest anyone who talks badly about Joyce Byers or her family.”

She couldn’t suppress a small laugh at that. “You can’t change the law,” she said, smiling.

“They don’t know that.”

She laughed again. “Yes, they do.”

He chuckled as well. “I can still scare them.”

She smiled at him and rested her head on his shoulder, grateful for his understanding reaction.

“But it would be nice, wouldn’t it? To not have to hide anymore. To be able to spend more time together, even spend the night anytime we feel like it.”

“Yes, it would. But, still, I feel so comfortable where we’re at now. Today we break the news to the kids and then before we know it, we leave for work in the morning and forget to kiss the other goodbye.”

This time, he busted out laughing completely. “You know what Joyce? I think you’re just scared to say it to your boys and you’re looking for excuses not to do it.”

“I’m not! This is a genuine concern!”

“Oh yes, you are.”

She groaned, giving in. “Ok, maybe I am.”

“They’re good kids, babe, what are you scared of?”

She shrugged once again, slowly this time. “Just… a little bit longer. Please. Let’s give us one more month.”

He stared at her while she was looking down at her fingers. He brought his lips to her temple, covered by her hair. “A little bit longer,” he agreed. 

\-- Sunday, 0:04 am --

She was always more relaxed when they were at his cabin, even he could see it. Maybe it came from the fact that she didn’t have to just sit and wait for her sons to come home when she was here. Or because she could not even answer any call from Donald, asking her to take another unplanned shift. Here she was just Joyce. Not a mom, not an employee, just a woman, and he could see the difference. It was like she allowed herself to let it go, at least for a short while.

She shifted slightly next to him, half asleep. Her head in his biceps, facing him, she was pressing close to his large frame and their legs were intertwined. She loved how big he was compared to her. She felt like she could lose herself in him, as if she could drown in his embrace.

Shifting too, he laid on his side and wrapped his free arm around her, burying his fingers in her hair. He massaged her scalp for a long moment, his lips pressed against her forehead, which caused her to let out some tiny whines of contentment

Sometimes, like tonight, the intensity of his feelings for her was scary. He never thought he would ever get the chance to feel this way again, but no matter how much he had loved Diane, she had still slipped away from him eventually. He could not cope with losing Joyce too. He was sure about it.

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, taking in her smell. He also grabbed the comforter and pulled it a little bit higher, shielding her bare skin from the cold. Another wave of cute little noises escaped her nose as she snuggled even closer.

“I love you,” he half whispered, half mumbled against her skin. _I love you like I've never loved anyone else_ , he added mentally.

As he received no response, he knew she had fallen asleep. He kissed her crown and reached out for the bedside table to turn the light off.

\-- Sunday, 12:21 pm --

He was cutting carrots on the table that he used as a counter. Joyce was watching him carefully since she’s been banned from helping him in any way. She also was wearing one if shirts again and was sitting on that same table.

“Do you really have to keep an eye on what I’m doing like that?”

She nodded solemnly after she looked up at him. “This is what you get for not wanting me to help.”

He shook his head, somewhere in between amused and annoyed, if it was even possible. He let out a not so discreet sigh. “Am I doing this right?”

“Nope.”

He looked up from the carrots, seeming genuinely hurt as if cutting vegetables was a way more serious matter than she realized. “Why?”

She snorted, not expecting such a reaction. “You’re wearing way too many clothes,” she clarified, smirking with malice.

“Oh,” he breathed out, his expression changing from hurt to surprised.

She reached out to him and started to unbutton his shirt. “You don’t need that.”

“Joyce, I’m cooking,” he told her even though he didn’t make a single move to stop her.

“So you’re risking to stain it.”

Very slowly, a smirk appeared on his lips. The smile got wider as her hands unbuttoning his shirt got lower.

"I thought you were hungry."

"I was but then you forbid me to do anything and you know damn well that I get horny when I'm bored."

He put the knife down and turned his full attention toward her, waiting for her next move. Once she was done with the shirt she started to work on the fly on his pants and pulled him closer. He parted her legs gently and positioned himself between them, holding her by the waist. She slid her hands on his bare chest, looking up at him with dark eyes.

"Our interlude in the shower this morning wasn't enough for you?" He murmured, his voice low.

Her grin got even wider and, still looking at him right in the eyes, told him : "make love to me."

There were a decent amount of things that she could do to turn him on in the blink of an eye. She knew them all by heart. Joyce was well aware that those four little words were on the very top of that list.

With a low groan, he pulled her toward him in a quick, measured, moved. "Bedroom, now," he breathed out in her ear.

With a victorious smile on the lips, she followed him across the living room. Once in front of the bed, he scooped her up, needing only one arm and she automatically wrapped her legs around his hips. He crawled in bed like that and press her down on the matters, preparing himself to obey to her earlier command. 

\-- Sunday, 3:08 pm --

Both of them were sitting on the porch, silently sharing a smoke. It was one of those moments when speaking was unnecessary. They had been outside for a while now, taking in the coldness of October after the hot summer they had experienced.

She had a cover draped over her shoulders and the steam of their breaths was mixing with the smoke of their cigarettes. Once in awhile their hands would cling to each other’s as they were passing the smoke back and forth between them, their fingers gently stroking the other’s.

“You’re right,” she said at some point after handing him the cigarette, breaking the silence.

He raised an eyebrow. “About what ?” he said before taking a drag.

“It would be nice to have that every day. To have the kids all around us, in a big house that would be ours,” she answered quietly, looking away at the leaves falling from the trees.

He looked at her and grinned when she made eye contact. “One day," he said softly.

She smiled back and delicately extracted the cigarette from his fingers. They fell back into a comfortable silence, only broken every now and then by the noises of the forest.

\-- Sunday, 5:57 pm --

Joyce was going around the whole cabin to make sure that all of her things were gathered in her bag. They didn’t want El to find anything suspicious and start asking questions. In the meantime, Hop was cleaning the kitchen and living room, erasing all traces of someone else’s presence during the weekend. Once done with her task, she stopped in the bathroom to check on the makeup she had applied over the fading but still present hickey.

"Next time please do that where no one can see it!" she told him while going back to the living room. "Even Jonathan never came home with anything like that."

Her tone was making obvious that she was still upset about it, but not enough to be mad at him.

Uncharacteristically, Hopper didn't reply to this. He was just waiting for her at the door, with that same look on his face he had every time they had to say goodbye.

She smiled at him sadly and opened her arms to invite him in. Once pressed against each other she assured him it wouldn’t be long until they could meet again.

"I know," he responded, "I just don't like seeing you go."

She held him tighter, knowing exactly what he was referring to. "I promise I'll tell them soon."

"I don't want to force you. Don't do it for me if you don't feel like it."

She parted from him, just enough to meet his gaze. "You've been talking about it for ages and now that I want to do it too you…"

"No, " he interrupted her. "I want to, I really really want to. I just don't want to behave like an ass and force you to it if you feel like it's not a good idea."

"You're not,” she said immediately. “You know I always tell you when you're being an ass, and even if that happens quite often, today it's not the case," she teased him, trying to make him smile. "Let's just give it a month, and I promise we'll tell them."

She waited for him to say something but he stayed silent and looked away.

"Hey, you know what? Our anniversary is in December, what about going out to dinner, just you and I, to celebrate it?"

"Really?" He asked, making eye contact again.

"Yes, I would love that. Then we'll celebrate Christmas all together with the kids," she said with a smile

"You don't have to do that just to make me happy you know," he stated, trying to sound casual fearing she would think he was irritated.

"I know. I really want that too. So what do you say? Twelfth of December, you and I? Where do you want to go?"

He smiled down at her, matching her own grin. "Promise?"

She pursued her lips, still smiling. "Promise," she said with a nod. "Where are you taking me, Chief?"

"I don't know," he started, visibly in a better mood. "I'll find the best restaurant in Hawkins."

"Nothing too expensive," she protested.

"We'll see about that." His smile was wide now, with a bit of mischief into it. The kind of grin you can only smile back to.

They met halfway to seal the deal in a kiss that lingered way more than necessary. She sighed against his lips when he pulled away. He raised a hand from her waist to her cheek and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. It was her turn to sigh.

"You're beautiful, Joyce. I don't tell you that enough."

She stared back at him for a couple of seconds. Hopper had that capacity to communicate honesty in one single look, it was breathtaking sometimes. Unable to hide how moved she was, she leaned up and met his lips once again.

"And you're hot as hell, Jim Hopper," she whispered, close to him, grabbing his ass to illustrate her words 

He snorted and buried his face in her neck, taking in her smell before he would have to let her go. Still stretched out on her tiptoes, she pressed closer to him and did the exact same thing.

"Thank you for this weekend. I really loved it," she said, the sound of her voice muffled by his clothes.

"Me too. Can't wait till we can do that every week."

She laughed softly against him and pulled away, releasing him from the uncomfortable angle.

"You're sure you want everyone to know you're dating crazy Joyce ?"

He took his time to brush that same rebellious strand of hair than before away and rested his hand on her cheek. "I can't wait," he repeated. "And they all gonna be so jealous."

She pinched her lips. "I'm not so sure about that you know."

"I am. Now let's get going before you're late," he cut her out before she could say any more nonsense.

She looked at her watch and nodded in agreement. But first, she hugged him tight one last time, pressing her face in his chest, appreciating the feelings of his strong arms around her.

"I think I can manage to sneak out for lunch sometimes during the week."

He smiled at that information. "Tell me when and I'm in."

After that, they allowed themselves one final kiss. One of those long slow and deep one, that lingers way too much but feels so good. One of those that make them feel sixteen again, like if it was still the same way it ever was between the two of them, untouched.

When they finally parted, they both sighed at the loss of the warmth of the other. She put her coat on, grabbed her bag and opened the door.

"Goodbye Hop, I love you."

He got closer and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Take care."

She nodded and started to walk away.

"I love you too," he added.

She smiled at him once again and blew him a kiss before entering her pinto.

He stayed there, in the doorframe and looked at her until he couldn't see her car anymore behind the trees. 

They agreed on letting her go pick Will first, then ten minutes later he could leave and pick El up as well, but right now all he wanted was to go after her and spend three more days by her side.

He reached out for his back pocket and lit up a smoke. Letting go of the first drag in a big breath, he thought to himself that it wouldn't be long until he could do just that. Eventually, he closed the door and started to think about what restaurant he could pick for their first anniversary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope you liked it. I surely enjoyed writing it and trying this new format that allows me to write about small glimpses that would not fill a whole chapter. Please tell me what you thought about it and if I should do more of those or if it was a fail haha !
> 
> Anyway, thank you for reading me :)


	7. Don't touch my mom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Hopper-Byers family gets an unexpected visit from Lonnie, except this time it's not Hopper who intervenes. 
> 
> #Hurt/Confort #Fear #ParentingHopAndJoyce

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiiiiiiiiii I know it's been forever this the last chapter but what can I say that you haven't already heard... Uni got in the way.   
> Anyway, here it is. I know it's a bit short but I hope it's good enough
> 
> TW Domestic violence/blood/alcohol

It was past midnight, everything was dark outside and the drive home from Melvald’s never felt longer than when they had to do this bi-annual inventory. She was beyond tired and more than hungry. When Joyce pulled out in front of their newly bought house she was surprised to see the kitchen's light was still lit.

It was a big house, way bigger than her old one, and definitely at least twice the size of Hop’s cabin. Four bedrooms, two bathrooms and, most importantly, a refitted attic that the kids had claimed for themselves. Of course, they had happily agreed to give it to them. Joyce was even pretty happy about the fact that it became a new meeting place for the party because it meant that Will would not be out so often anymore.

Outside in the cold of January, she got out of her car, walked up to the front door and pushed it open silently before coming in. Then she dropped her keys discreetly in the bowl made for it in the hall and threw her bag unceremoniously in one of the couches. When she turned to head to the kitchen she found him waiting for her in the doorframe between the two rooms.

“You’re still up?” she asked quietly.

“I wanted to wait for you. Your diner’s heating up,” he informed her.

She groaned both from fatigue and contentment before getting closer to him to press against his chest. “Thank you.”

“Of course,” he mumbled, also tired from his day at work. He wrapped his arms around her, giving her the comfort she was looking for after such a long evening.

“You’re perfect.”

Hopper chuckled softly. “You don’t always say that.”

“You’re perfect sometimes,” she clarified before looking up at him with a playful smile.

He laughed more frankly at that and released her from his embrace before going back in the kitchen to get her diner out of the microwave. Both of them sat at the table while she ate, talking about their day with tired eyes. It wasn't long until she finished it and they headed to their room at the very end of the corridor.

The master bedroom was on the ground floor with its assigned bathroom while the three others were on the first floor. Needless to say, it was rather convenient when it came to certain nocturnal activities…

Joyce climbed up in bed first, eagerly waiting for him to do the same so they could snuggle up and he would warm her up with his body.

"I'm glad you're here," she whispered once tucked neatly against him.

"Well, I live here you know," he teased her. "Where else do you want me to be?"

She laughed softly. "I know but every time I used to come back from those inventories the kids were already asleep or close to be. It feels good to come home to you."

Hopper smiled softly against her hair and hold her a bit tighter. He pressed a kiss to her crown and rubbed her arm gently.

"I like it too," he whispered, already drifting out.

Finally able to give in to sleep, Joyce buried her nose in his neck and felt all of her muscles relax. Her thoughts started to wander freely, like a movie playing only for her behind her lids as sleep slowly took over her. She smiled absentmindedly at the sound of his soft snore but the grin only stayed on her lips for a couple of seconds. Her whole face wrinkled as she was pulled off this blissful rest by powerful bangs most probably coming from the front door. 

She sat up slowly and as the bangs came back for a second row Hopper opened his eyes, looking even more confused than her.

She got out of bed and took a look outside the window to notice a parked car in front of the house, lights still on. She informed Hopper about it and quickly threw her robe on her shoulders before heading to the source of the noise.

"Joyce!" Hopper called out. "Don't open the door, wait for me!"

He grabbed his pants and put them on in a hurry, entering the leaving room only seconds after her.

The bangs on the other sides of the door rang once again and she looked at her man with confused and worried eyes.

He was about to cross the few feet separating him from the door when Jonathan appeared down the stairs.

"Mom?"

Joyce turned to see him and shrugged, as lost as everyone else.

"You stay there," Hopper told him quietly enough to not be heard by the person outside.

"Open this fucking door!" The mysterious visitor shouted approximately from the other side of the door.

Joyce sighed loudly with a roll of her eyes, immediately recognizing the voice, and wondered how she didn't think about that sooner.

"Don't let him in," her son told her in the dead cold tone he reserved for his father.

The three of them exchanged some looks, pondering about what to do. Soon though, the bangs let way to even bigger ones as Lonnie visibly pounced against the door.

"What the fuck," Hopper let out, not believing this was really happening. "Does this happen often?"

"Late visit from him? Yeah. But this is new, " Joyce informed him.

"Don't open!" Jonathan said again, feeling panic starting to overflow him. He jumped at new noises coming from up the stairs but was relieved to see that it was only El and Will.

"What is it?" The girl said, sounding way too afraid for someone able to kill someone with a snap of her neck.

"Nothing, don't worry," Jonathan responded before taking her hand to reassure her.

"Is it dad?" Will asked tentatively, maybe even more stunned by the rest of them.

It was a simple question. A simple question with a simple answer, but Hopper watched Joyce's eyes fill up with pain and hesitation. He didn't need that to hate that man, he already did, and for a long time now. But this was enough to remind him of how much he actually detested him. Deciding it was enough he walked to the door and opened it quickly despite Joyce's protest.

Lonnie almost fell at Hopper's feet, no longer able to lean against the door.

"What are you doing here?" He let out with his best chief of police tone.

In the short time it took the smaller man to straighten up, Joyce closed the distance between her and Hopper, positioning herself almost in front of him. He automatically grabbed her by the waist in an attempt to move her away from Lonnie but she slid away from his grip and side-eyed him to inform him she was right where she intended to be.

"You're not welcome here Lonnie," she stated with a voice she didn't use very often.

"Believe me I would rather be somewhere else," he informed, his breath communicating just how much alcohol he had been drinking.

"But I have a problem," he continued. "You finally got what you wanted right?" He spat at the couple's faces. "You fucked the girl, now she's yours, blah blah blah, congratulations!"

"What do you want?" Hopper almost barked at him.

Joyce put a hand on his chest to stop him from doing anything more. She had made it clear on several occasions that he was not to interfere in anything Lonnie related. He was her problem alone and she didn't need anyone's help to deal with him. More importantly, she knew well enough how those two men used to solve their arguments back in the days and they didn't need that tonight.

"What I want?" He repeated, offended. "I want my son back."

Still looking at Hopper right in the eyes, Lonnie extended his arm to point at Will who was still standing there in the stairs, looking like a doe caught in a car’s headlights.

It took a few seconds to pretty much everyone to process the whole meaning of this, which Hopper used to step back to get closer to the kids. He wanted his weapon close to him but he had the bad idea to leave it in the room. He was about to ask their eldest to go get it so he could stay there when Lonnie opened his mouth again.

“C’mere Will,” he let out as if he was talking to a dog.

Genuinely lost and fairly afraid, the boy searched his parent’s eyes to know if he should do as instructed. Meeting the boy’s gaze, Hopper quickly whispered his instructions to Jonathan before getting closer to the two kids still in the staircase.

“Don’t move kid,” he said softly while positioning his big frame in front of him. Will breathed a little easier and, unaware of Hopper’s intention to go back to his previous spot next to Joyce, grabbed his arm in his hands, looking for safety.

“Come here I said !” Lonnie exploded, making everyone jump at the intensity of his voice. 

At that, Will completely hid behind Hopper, pressing against his back, as afraid of Lonnie as when he was five years old. Heart racing, Jonathan also chose this moment to get moving and do as Hopper instructed him to.

“Let’s be honest here for one second, Jonathan’s not worth it anymore, even wondering if he’s really my son ya know.”

If the teenager could not care less about that last comment, what made him stop on his way and turn around was his mother’s not so polite response to him to get the fuck out of her house.

Fearing that the situation would only deteriorate from now on, Hopper sent a nervous glare to Jonathan who took the hint and hurried in his parent's house to grab the gun.

"I won't let my son be raised by a fucking pig!" Lonnie continued to scream, only now spilling out the real reason for his visit. 

As if the volume of his voice wasn't enough for the whole neighborhood to hear them, he smashed his somewhat empty bottle on the wall, sending broken glass everywhere.

Feeling pretty confident he didn't have enough balance left to fight back, Joyce pushed him on the chest, but only managed to make him go back to the door where he grabbed the frame to steady himself.

"Get out!" She repeated, but Lonnie's eyes stayed on Hopper who had trouble getting out of Will's grip.

"Fuck her I don't care but don't fuck with my kid!"

"Go fuck yourself Lonnie !" he let out automatically. "Will is staying here, you lost your right to be his father a long time ago!"

For an unclear reason, Lonnie decided it was the last straw and started to walk toward the boy, still hiding behind Hopper.

"You're coming with me."

"No he's not, " he heard his ex-wife say as she stopped him by grabbing and pulling his arm.

Lonnie stopped, looking more annoyed than ever. He sighed while rolling his eyes before he moved again.

Before she could do anything to avoid it, his fist connected to her cheekbone. A cry escaped her mouth and the shock of the impact sent her on the floor.

"Why do you always make me do that ?" he complained.

Behind his back, Hopper managed to get rid of Will’s grip and threw himself at him but didn't have time to reach him as Lonnie's whole body was violently projected against the nearest wall. Instead of falling down afterward, he was slowly pulled up toward the ceiling. His eyes went wide and he seemed to have trouble breathing

Every pair of eyes in the room turned to El. A red bead was coming out of her left nostril and her fists were clenched. Her whole self was ultimately even more frightening than Lonnie's behavior for anyone not used to it. And he was not used to it.

The girl got down the couple of steps left to reach the floor and walked toward the man, her eyes not leaving his.

"El," Hopper whispered, looking frantically between her, Joyce and Lonnie.

Jonathan, who had just came back in the room, used this distraction to rush to his mother's side who was only starting to sit back up, disoriented by the impact.

"Don't touch my mom," El hissed at the terrified man. "Understood?"

"What the fuck?", was his only answer.

In one quick move, El raised her hand and a vase took off from the living room to crushed against the wall, inches away from Lonnie's head.

"Understood?" She repeated, shouting at him.

"Yes!" The drunken man reluctantly said, annoyed and visibly ashamed to have to forfeit against a teenage girl.

With one violent tilt of her head, she opened the door wide, which had been left ajar. Then she lifted both of her arms and Lonnie flew through the room to land outside, next to his car. He only had enough time to turn over before he saw the door slam shut, living him alone on the wet grass. He paused for a moment, registering what had just happened. Then, completely forgetting the purpose of his visit, he got back in his car and drove away, more ashamed than he would never admit it.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the door, everyone gathered around Joyce who slowly got back up only for her to be guided toward the couch to sit back.

“Mom are you ok ?” Will enquired audibly panicked. Lonnie’s ring had cut her cheekbone open and blood was making its way up to down her neck. 

“I’m fine,” she let out lower than she wanted.

“I’m gonna get the first aid kit,” informed Jonathan as he got up.

Hopper instantly took the vacant seat and wrapped a steady arm around her shaking frame. He gently put his fingers of his free hand under her chin and silently got her to look at him. He gave a quick look at the cut, which was not as dramatic as the amount of blood lead to think, before meeting her gaze again. He wiped off a tear hanging in the corner of her eye and gave her one of those intense reassuring looks that for some reason always worked so well on her. She let out the breath she had been holding and leaned on his chest while waiting for Jonathan to come back.

Hopper pressed his face in her hair before looking up to Will who was standing close to them. He asked him silently if he was ok and the boy answered with a tiny nod of his head. 

The three of them, turned around as they heard the easily identifiable sound of scattered pieces of glass being picked up.

"Baby, don't touch this, you're going to hurt yourself, " Joyce told El who had an unexpected look of guilt on her face.

"Come here," said Hopper softly while extending a hand toward her.

She walked up to them as her big brother did the same, bringing the first aid kit.

She took the hand her father was offering her so he could bring her closer. He was about to speak but she was quicker than him.

"I'm sorry about the vase."

"What?" He breathed out.

"Ho El, no don't worry about it, it's nothing, " Joyce jumped it, trying not to move as her eldest was working on her cheek.

Hopper chuckled softly. Their daughter had just given that bastard the well-deserved beating of his life and she was worried about the vase.

"you did good kid. You did really well. It was worth an old ugly vase," he told her as he closed his arm around her to give her a quick embrace. 

"Thank you," said Joyce honestly. She reached out to grab her hand and squished it a few times. She hated to still be so vulnerable to this man. She hated that he was stronger than her and that she was not always enough to face him. But mostly, she hated that her children had to face him for her. She had seen Jonathan do it a countless number of times and now El had to intervene too. It was not fair.

El shook her head. "He hurt you. He is a bad man."

"Yeah, he deserves it, " Will added from where he stood.

"Totally, " said Jonathan too.

Joyce focused back on her boy who was currently taking care of her. A wave of guilt overtook her again when she met his gaze. Her beautiful Jonathan. He was becoming such an amazing young man. He was thoughtful, brave, full of love… and she was so proud of him.

"Don't listen to him, sweetheart. You're worth it. You're not a lost…"

"I know mom, " he cut her off. "Honestly, those words, coming from his mouth, it's a compliment, " he told her with a soft smile.

She smiled back at him a bit too sadly than she realized. He finished quickly after that, applying a band-aid to her cheekbone.

The five of them then shared an unexpected moment of silence, processing what had just happened. They might had battled with monsters from other dimensions, things like this still had an impact on them. And it somehow felt a bit harder to wrap their mind around events like tonight. Because he was the boys' father. He was not supposed to be the enemy.

El was still pressed close to her dad, silently seeking validation for what she had just done. When she had seen Lonnie hurt Joyce she had acted out of instinct. Immediately. Maybe she should not have done that. But the grip of Hopper's hand around her small fingers, his soft words and the proud look in his eyes comforted her in the fact that it had been the right thing to do.

Actually, he was almost relieved she had dealt with it instead of him. He was not really sure of the things he might have been capable of doing to Lonnie if he has had the chance to touch him.

"You ok baby ?" they heard Joyce say, cutting the silence off.

Every pair of eyes turned to Will who nodded silently, swallowing awkwardly at the same time.

"I just hope he won't come back," he said softly.

"If he does he'll regret it. Next time he shows up I remand him in custody, even if he's just walking in the street," Hopper told them.

"Hop."

"No, Joyce. I don't care, I've had enough. We all, have had enough of him. Am I supposed to wait until he sends one of you to the hospital?"

"But you can't do that without a reason."

"The whole town has something against him, believe me, no one will stop me."

She held his gaze for a few seconds, short in arguments.

"He's right mom."

She turned to look at Jonathan.

"We can't just let him do what he pleases like that. He hurt you tonight, what if no one had been there to stop him? We have to make him understand he can't do that and if Hopper has to play the chief of police card for that then be it!"

She looked down in defeat, because she knew he was right.

"We're used to him but that was a whole new level, even for him. What's the next step? We can't go on like that, being scared of him even when he's not here. I'm scared for you mom. I'm scared for all of us if he ever decides to come back."

Joyce honestly didn't know what to say anymore. As much as she hates it, all of this was true.

"I'll protect you. Don't worry," El told them.

Hopper smiled slightly at her. She was definitely his daughter. But she should not feel like she needed to protect her family, let alone her parents. It was supposed to be the other way around.

"You don't worry, " he told her. "You won't have to protect anyone. That's my job, not yours."

"I'll be your assistant, " she retorted and that simple sentence made them all smile at least a little bit.

With the tension released a bit, Hopper told them it was time to go back to bed, if they felt ok doing so. After some hesitation, the kids agreed without complaining but not before checking their mom was ok.

Getting up, she gave them all a big mom hug, reassuring them she was fine with that so perfect fake smile that could fool anyone. But even an oscar-winning performance could not fool Hopper who knew her too well.

They both said good night to their teenagers and watched them go back up the stairs. Once they were not in sight anymore he slid his arm around her middle and hugged her from behind.

"You don't have to pretend for me."

She closed her eyes and let a breath out, letting her shoulders fall.

"It's ok, " he told her while turning her around so she could face him.

"No Jim. No, this is not ok, " she stopped to take a shaky breath. "None of this ok. He shows up in the middle of the night to take Will away from me and I can't even stop him! It will never be ok, not in a million years!"

"Hey, hey. He's gone now. He won't come back."

"You don't know that," she broke down completely, sobbing against him.

"I won't let him."

"Why is the universe so keen on taking my boy away from me? Am I this bad of a mother?"

"Joyce, " he started firmly. "No, stop." He pulled away to make her meet his gaze. "You're upset you're not thinking straight right now. You are a good parent and it has nothing to do with this anyway. Ok?"

She dropped her eyes and shrugged.

"Honey," he tentatively said to get her attention back. "It's been a very long day, you're exhausted. We'll talk about this tomorrow with a clear mind if you want but you feeling guilty is what he wants. Don't give him that."

She looked up at him, her lips pressed together.

"Alright?"

After a long second, she nodded and let him wrap his arms around her again. She still cried silently against his chest because he was so good damn too tall for her to reach his neck.

Hopper held her tight and close to him, caressing her hair gently. He dropped a couple of kisses on the top of her head. He hated that man. The way he could shake up his entire family in less than five minutes was making Hopper go mad. They will have to find a way to stop him once and for all. El had done a pretty good job scaring him away but he had some doubts about it being enough and it was not her place to do so.

In silence, it was his turn to breathe out. It was not a task for today.

"We should go back to bed, " she said slowly.

He looked back at her and scanned her was to estimate how ok she was. Half satisfied, he brushed a strand of hair away from her face and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah."

After checking the door was locked, the two of them made their way back to their room and silently settled under the cover.

After all that Hopper had thought that Joyce would seek closeness and comfort but instead, she laid there, staring at nothing, and uncharacteristically quiet. He wasn't sure if he should turn the light off or not.

"You can talk to me you know that right? I said we would do that tomorrow but if it makes you feel better we can talk now."

She turned her head to look at him. "I don't know." She paused. "I feel lost, and upset, and I don't know what to do. I'm not even sure there is something to be done at all."

"Listen, " he started softly. "I know you don't want me to get involved in things related to him, but remember you're not alone ok? We're together. We'll figure it out together."

She smiled at him tiredly.

"You don't have to face this on your own, " he added.

"It's not easy to remember sometimes. Not used to it yet, " she confessed, her voice almost a whisper.

"Well… bought a house together, raising our kids there and stuff… I'm here for the long run so you better start wrapping your head around it."

She chuckled, just a bit, and her smile got broader.

He grinned back at her, inviting her in another of his bear hugs.

She crawled closer and this time stuck her face in his neck now that she could reach it. His soft words and gentle moves were at least capable of making her feel less vulnerable.

She felt her body relax and managed to convince herself that she should sleep.

When Hopper was sure that she had drifted off he turned the light off before going back to Joyce and held her for the rest of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, hope you liked it ! Please tell me what you think I will read and reply to all of your comments, they make my day :D


	8. Hug him and squeeze him tight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joyce is not feeling right tonight but Hopper has a hard time trying to get to tell him why. 
> 
> Our favorite couple in the process of getting to know each other in the early stage of their relationship
> 
> #Fluff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF SEASON 3 !!!!
> 
> I wrote this one just today because I was feeling nostalgic and I really wanted to upload something to celebrate. Then, it might very well not be my best one yet but at least it's there hahaha ! I hope you'll like it anyway.
> 
> I really can't wait until season 4... *sigh*

The sound of the television was filling the room and a distant chatter shook Hopper awake. It was getting late and Will, last of the kids still up, had just said good night before heading to his room.

Hopper stretched his arms and ran a hand on his face before reaching for Joyce on the other side of the couch.

She accepted his invite and let him drag her toward his warm body. But she was stiff against him, and five minutes of slow back rub from his part was not enough to relax her.

He had seen her biting her lips a bit more tonight, and going around the house with more restlessness than usual. They had only been dating for a couple of months but he was starting to know her by heart now. He knew something was off. But he also knew that it was not going to be easy to get her to open up about it.

Gently, he pressed a kiss on her crown and murmured to her how much he had enjoyed spending this evening with her. This seemed to do the trick, at least a little, and he decided to take his chance now that she was at least breathing somewhat correctly.

"Are you ok?" He mumbled against her hair.

As soon as the question left his mouth she extracted herself from his embrace and got up of the couch.

"Yeah, " she said with the least convincing tone possible. "And you?"

He sighed, unnoticed, as he watched her go in the kitchen. He knew better than to confront her directly so he just followed her in the next room when he understood she was not coming back.

Once in there, he watched her go pass him again, not really sure if she was avoiding him or not. He leaned against the sink, contemplating his next move. She came back a few seconds later, hands full of dishes, and stopped when she saw him blocking the way to the sink. He noticed how the look in her eyes was different than usual. 

He took off from his spot and headed toward the dining table to grab what was left of the dishes. He figured she wanted to tidy a bit before going to bed. Though, he heard her turn the water on and found her washing a plate when he got back in the kitchen.

"We'll do the dishes tomorrow, it's almost one in the morning, " he said while emptying his hands.

"I'd rather do it now, " she mumbled.

He contemplated her for a couple of seconds. It was obvious that she wasn’t fine, though he couldn’t really tell why. She didn’t seem to be cross with him but he would have preferred it was it because then he would know what to do about it. 

He brushed his fingers on her arm and got closer. “I’ll do it, go to bed, you look exhausted.”

“I’m fine,” she retorted with the tone that comes with a lie you told way too often. “You go to bed, I’ll join you in a sec, there’s not much to clean.”

“Joyce.”

A discrete humming was all he got as a response, probably to indicate him she was listening.

“Joyce, look at me.”

She stopped her motion but held on to the plate and the sponge. She sighed as her shoulders fell. After a full second, she did as instructed and firmly asked “what ?”

He stared back at her, contemplating acting as annoyed as she just did but even though it was quite tempting he decided against it. Holding back his temper for a little longer he reached out to the tap of the sink and turned it off.

“What’s wrong?” he let out calmly.

She pinched her lips together but stuck to her “nothing” while shaking her head. Though, he could see that he was piercing through her shell as she seemed less and less convinced while saying it. 

“Is it me?” he asked. “Did I do something wrong?” he enquired now not quite sure about his earlier impression. 

She froze more abruptly this time and looked up to meet his eyes. 

“No,” she said quickly. “No, you haven’t done anything.”

She rinsed the plate quickly as well as her hands and gave up on the dishes.

“I’m sorry,” she added quietly. “You’re right it’s late, let’s go to bed.”

he followed her back in the living room, quite lost in this sudden change of direction. He grabbed her hand once at her level and tug it gently to make look at him again.

“What is it?” he asked gently.

She looked away, avoiding his eyes so he couldn’t see hers starting to fill in with tears. “Nothing,” she breathed out, her voice breaking “I’m not lying. It’s just how it is.”

“Honey, I can’t help you if you don’t tell me.” 

She looked up at the ceiling while struggling to find her words. “You can’t help,” she said, shuffling in discomfort.

“Ok, ok.” He guided her to the couch so he could try to calm her down first. “Why don’t you let me try huh? 

She exhaled, still looking away. “You really can’t Hop… It’s me.” She paused to take a shallow breath. “It’s who I am, no one can do anything.” 

He was looking up at her from his crouching position in front of her. Her hands surrounded by his big ones, he was paying close attention to her expression in order to make out how exactly she was feeling. 

“I’m not sure I understand,” he admitted after a few seconds once she was done talking.

She looked away again, searching her mind for the right way to say it. “It’s not your fault. It’s just… I can’t help it sometimes.” She paused again, reluctant to let it out. “It’s stress, you know. I feel like it eats me out sometimes and I can’t function and… and…”

“Anxiety ?” he cut her off.

She looked at him, concern in her big wet eyes, bitting in her lip. She noded. “It’s not your fault, you haven’t done anything.”

“I know that, Joyce.”

“But I don’t want you to think that…” she stopped, shrugging slowly. “I don’t want you to think that you caused it. Or that you’re not enough. You can’t do anything about it.”

He frowned while she extracted one of her hands from his grip to brush a tear away.

“Is that why you didn’t want to tell me?”

She looked down but nodded again, feeling as vulnerable as one can be.

“Ho Joyce...” he said quietly.

“I don’t…” she stumbled upon a sob. “I don’t want you to feel like it’s your job to fix it because… You can’t. You really can’t.”

“Babe.”

“No, let me finish,” she cut him off, slowly but firmly. “I don’t want you to try to fix it. As I said, you can’t. And if you do you’re just going to… to exhaust yourself trying and then it’s gonna be too much for you,” she said calmly. “I don’t want this to transpire on you,” she added more firmly.

“But you can talk to me. You know that, right? You can talk to me. You wanted to… what? Pretend it wasn’t there every time we're together?”

She took a breath. “No. I guess no…” she trailed off. “I don’t know.”

He exhaled quietly. It was hard sometimes to work out what was happening in her mind. He didn’t know if she was right but what he was sure about was that he could not leave her like that. Maybe he was no therapist but he could surely find a way to ease her. To support her through all of this.

In a surprisingly smooth way, he kneeled, still in front of her and wrapped his arms around her. 

Surrounded by his huge frame, Joyce closed her eyes and let him hug her, slowly closing her own arms on him too.

After a moment he spoke again, softly. “The last thing I want, Joyce, is you to feel like you can’t come to me when something is wrong.”

“Don’t make it sound like that,” she whined against the skin of his neck. 

“It’s true,” he retorted while pulling back to look at her. He placed one of his large palms on her cheek. “It’s ok. I understand. But I also want you to wrap your head around the fact that I love you ok? I don’t just like you. Spending time with you is not just a fun way to kill time. I love you.” He was looking at her right in the eyes, making sure that she was hearing what he had to say. “and I am here for you. Because I want to. And for heaven’s sake, Joyce,” he paused before starting again, in a whisper. “You are not too much.”

Touché.

At the sight of her eyes filling up again, he knew he had guessed right. He brushed some hair away that got stuck in the moisture of her tears and pressed a kiss to her forehead. 

She let her head rest against his chest. “I’m sorry,” she said weakly.

“Why ?” he asked, secretly annoyed by her apology. 

“I don’t know,” she said before sobs took over her.

“Then don’t be,” he murmured in her hair.

They stayed like that for a moment, his fingers in her hair, her arms tight around him. Her nose was still runny when he broke the silence.

“Can I ask you something?”

She hummed in response.

“Do you think I’m too much?”

She extracted herself from his embrace, brows knitted together. “What? No. Absolutely not.”

“Ok so, if me, with my traumas, my lost daughter, and my struggle with alcohol are not too much then why on earth would you be?”

She looked at him for a couple of seconds before taking a breath. “Ok, got it.”

“Good,” he said with a shy smirk.

“But it’s not that easy you know.” 

Hopper snorted. “Yeah, tell me about it.”

“Right,” she said in a breath. “Sorry, for real this time.”

“It’s ok,” he said while rubbing her back. “But just remember that what you’re feeling for me, I’m feeling the same for you. I’m not just gonna let you down at the first difficulty we encounter.”

She looked up at him with a red nose. “Yeah, you will most likely wait until the second or the third before you dump me.” 

He laughed at that, shoving her gently. “Stop that. You’re stuck with me now, whether you like it or not.”

She laughed too. And God, it felt good to hear that sound. 

“No, but I’m serious Joyce. You can count on me. We might be two broken people but we’re broken together.”

“We’re not broken !” she exclaimed instantly. “Just… slightly bent.” 

He smiled again. “Just slightly bent,” he repeated, not really believing it to be true for himself. 

They looked at each other for a short moment. Tired eyes staring at each other. Then she got closer and pressed her lips to his briefly. Her face found its way back to the crook of his neck and she hid there like if she was scared to be seen.

His arms tightened around her again and hold her as close as humanly possible. And it felt so good. She still couldn’t quite yet realize that she got to have this. To have him, to be supported by him. Sometimes the reality of it seemed impossible and that’s why she needed to feel him against her like this. She was squeezing him so tight she was concerned about chocking him. But he was doing just the same to her and right now it made her feel alive.

“I love you,” she said. “I love you,” she repeated more meaningfully. “I’m just… not used to have somebody to lean on.” 

“Me neither,” he mumbled. “I maybe can’t fix it but I’m sure I can do something to help a bit huh?” he added after another moment of silence.

She took a big breath of his scent. “Well, the hug is kind of helping actually.”

He grinned in silence before setting his mind on the next move. Suddenly, he managed to get up without breaking the embrace. Dragging Joyce along with him, her feet now hanging freely against his legs. “Good, because I got a lot of those.”

“Jim!” she exclaimed, though she was still trying to be quiet to not wake anyone up.

He carried her down the hall to her room which was soon filled with her discrete chuckles. 

It was hard sometimes. Her life had never been easy since the end of high school. And it only seemed to get harder and harder. But at least now she wasn’t alone anymore. And it almost made it all feel ok in the end.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed this one, please leave a comment to tell me what you think, it makes my day. Feel free to leave prompts ideas as well!!


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